Pink na Koneko
Page 9

"Chikushou!"
"Damn it!"

Ishi o kette yatsuatari shite mo, kibun wa yappari buruu dakara, kyou wa asa kara gakkou sabotte, atchi e herohero kotchi e herohero, gokuraku tombo no Kouhei-chan.
Even though he expressed his frustration by kicking rocks, he was still in a blue mood, so today Kouhei-chan skipped school and wandered around aimlessly.

  1. yatsuatari = taking one's anger/frustration out on someone/something that doesn't deserve it
  2. herohero = a "sound effect" intended to indicate purposeless, rather fluttery meandering
Chuugaku san-nen, jukensei.
Junior high third year, preparing to take the high school entrance exam.

Asonderu ba-ai ja nai'tte ka?
You mean, this isn't the time to be playing around?

  1. 'tte = quotation marker (can be dranslated as "you say")
    Thus, 'tte ka could be considered "do you say?" though I changed it to "you mean" to make it sound more natural. The "you" is because it's a rhetorical question directed to the world at large.
Fun, benkyou ga nani sa.
Hmm, what's the big deal about studying?

Juken ga nani sa.
What's so important about an entrance exam?

Yuutousei no kamen?
The mask of an honor student?

Nani sore'tte kanji.
It's like, "what's that?"

  1. 'tte = quotation marker
  2. kanji = literally "feeling," in this case it's marking a comparison--to iu kanji = "the kind of feeling/sense that..."
    The "it" in this sentence is Kouhei's mood. To be more literal, "[Kouhei's mood was] a "what's that?" kind of feeling.
Honto wa, piasu no ana demo aketai kibun.
Really, he felt as if he wanted to get an ear pierced or something.

  1. demo = perhaps
    This is used in the sense that it's suggesting an option. For instance, "O-cha demo nomitai?" is offering someone the option of drinking tea, without making the person feel obligated. So Kouhei isn't totally stuck on the idea of getting an earring, it's only an example.
Toorisugari no uindou ni akai kirei na ishi mitsuketa kara, kitto niau to omotte,
He found a pretty red stone in a window as he passed by, and he thought it would surely look good on him,

  1. to = marking a phrase as a thought (to omou)
demo, iza akeru to naru to oku shite shimau jibun ga nasakenakute,
however, he felt pathetic that when it came to actually getting his ear pierced he was too afraid,

  1. iza = this is a word that is difficult to translate; it's used in reference to potential occurrences, especially if unpleasant in nature. Such occurrences, though possible, are hypothetical. In English we would say something like, "If it comes to that..." or "When it comes right down to it..."
  2. to naru to = lit. "when it becomes that" (complements iza), reinforces the sense of "when it comes to..." although without the negative implications
  3. oku shite shimau = (helper verb shimau) "to (regrettably) become afraid"
semete mono kibun tenkan ni, omotesandou de mitsuketa biyouin de kamigata o kaeru koto ni shita.
at least to raise his spirits, he decided to change his hairstyle at the beauty salon he found on the street.

  1. kibun tenkan = to change one's mood--from negative to positive
  2. ni suru = as before, this indicates a spontaneous decision to make a change
"Futsuu, yoyaku nashi ja yaranai n'dakedo.
"Usually, we wouldn't do it without an appointment.

Kimi, kawaii kara sa."
But you're so cute."

To, jishou karisuma biyoushi toyara ga itta.
Said the self-proclaimed "charisma stylist."

  1. to = quotation marker for the previous sentence
Kawaii'tte no wa toku da.
It's good to be cute.

Itsu mo kore de, kekkou oishii omoi o shiteru.
He always has good experiences like this.

  1. oishii omoi = in this case, omoi isn't literally "thought," it's more like "feeling" or "experience"--and oishii means it's a good one; the opposite would be tsurai omoi
  2. shiteru = (helper verb iru) indicates that this happens frequently
Demo, kawaii kara, doko made itte mo Kaoru ni wa kodomo to shika mite moraenai.
However, it's because he's cute that Kaoru always only sees him as a child.

  1. doko made itte mo = no matter how far (in this case, no matter how much time passes)
  2. shika -nai = "only," implying that it's not enough
  3. mite morau = (helper verb morau) means that he views Kaoru's regard for him as a gift; this is often used in romantic situations when someone wants the object of his affection to pay attention to him.
Shampuu-dai ni suwatte kami o aratte moratteru to,
When he sat at the sink and had his hair washed,

  1. to = when/if
hajimete Kaoru to atta hi ni, issho ni o-furo ni haitta koto o omoidashita.
he remembered the day he first met Kaoru, when they took a bath together.

  1. to = with (meaning an action done with another person, such as "meet")
Futari shite, zenshin awabuku kaijuu ni natte, kya'kkya kya'kkya to asonda'kke.
The two of them became bubble-covered monsters and played noisily, didn't they...

  1. to = sound effect marker
  2. 'kke = rhetorical question/contemplation
Kouhei wa mada mutsutsu no gaki datta kara, dakitsuite mo, wagamama itte mo, amaete mo, chittomo hen ja nakatta.
Kouhei was still a 6-year-old kid, so even if hugged Kaoru, or wanted his own way, or let Kaoru pamper him, it wasn't strange at all.
◄ Previous Table of Contents Next ►