Gravity1
*door opens*
President Kuraku!
What is it?!
We have trouble! Their tour seems to be incredibly popular among the guests!
W-What?! There’s simply no chance that… What exactly is happening out there?!
I was able to fully enjoy karaoke despite my age… But I must stay proper. I am here for work.
(Singing for the first time in a while has me feeling quite refreshed. I’ve followed the app’s instructions and moved to the next area…)
(The third campus, which stretches across Ward 8 and Ward 9, is home to clubs that are able to make use of the ocean it is situated by, including the Yacht Club and the Aquarium Research Club, among many others.)
(The astronomical museum, which acts as the campus’s symbol, contains some of the best planetarium projection technology in the world. As such, clubs related to space also operate from this campus.)
Oh.
(I smell something delicious. Some sort of citrus scent that whets the appetite…)
(Where is it coming from? I can’t see much among all of the people, but you won’t be able to escape my sweets-crazy senses.)
Hm… There’s something written on this banner.
(Let’s see… “mandarin orange cream puffs…”)
Cream puffs flavored with mandarin orange…?! I must head there immediately!
Two mandarin cream puffs for you. Please move away from the car if you want to eat them. Don’t get in the way of the other customers.
Ah, sorry to let you know after you’ve waited in line, but we only accept digital payment.
Hey, you little brat, could you please stop touching the car with your sticky fingers?
You are not supposed to treat your customers like that! Kurama! I’ve been observing you for a while, and you’ve been nothing but rude!
You will absolutely ruin Hama Asunaro High School’s reputation! Evacuate the premises immediately! Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate!
Ugh, here come the complaints.
How DARE you brush me off?! Everyone here is now a witness to your impudence!!
Gentlemen, please do not act this way in front of the sweets. Put yourself in the shoes of the customers who have eagerly lined up to indulge in these cream puffs.
My apologies. But please understand that I, Kuraku Yumenosuke, cannot possibly afford to overlook this situation!!
*sigh*
You’re talking just a little too much. Please, allow me to shut you up.
Mrrghh…!
Hohh… Mrph!
Laaaaa! ♪
Overwhelming world peace inside my mouth…! ♪
A vast and rich terrace farm… Green fields and gentle winds… Harvested carefully by my mother’s kind hands…
“They’ll find them delicious,” I heard, as we sent the golden mandarins off with tears in our eyes…
With skin shining like gemstones, repelling the morning dew… They must be a gift from the god of the mountain, and a blessing from the god of the sea.
The formation of the Earth… The birth of the human race… The cosmos, the stars… Ahh, this aroma, this harmony… It stretches into the infinite corners of the universe.
And this refreshing aftertaste… What could that be? It’s like the sea breeze of Shodoshima that washes everything away… No, I must stop thinking about it…
All of the stress and anger that has built up after endless days of toil is melting away… Ah, I no longer care about the student council or the school. I simply…
I remember. I remember what I want to do, not what I must do.
*panting*
Want some to take home?
…Home…
Yes, I would… I have to buy more…for all of humanity…
Okay, thanks.
Wait, sir.
*gasp*
YOU!
Muu-chan!
Uu-chan, it’s unfair to take advantage of your customers having a flavor trip to sell more.
I didn’t mean to take advantage of them. Everyone always ends up like that, so how’s it my fault?
Yes, I understand that the mandarin cream puffs are explosively delicious. But sir, you will lose all of your money if you buy enough for all of humanity.
Please calm down and buy only what you need. It’s so crowded here because other people are also rushing to buy more after entering that dreamlike state.
Ah… Yes, you’re right. I will do that…
Who are you, by the way? Are you perhaps…training to be an astronaut?
I’m Kaguya, mayor of Ward 8.
Kh…!
Kaguya-kun, I was an utter fool for putting my trust in you! Under righteous command, I will have you surrender your position to me.
……
Are you saying that Muu-chan’s not doing a good job?
Step back, criminal! That hazardous material you shoved into my mouth has smoothed out several wrinkles on my brain!
I assume that means you found it delicious.
I put quite a bit of work into them.
President Kuraku, all humans are rendered powerless in front of Uu-chan’s sweets.
I shall never admit it. Neveeeer! *running*
Ah, President Kuraku…!
He ran away.
(I see, so this boy is Kaguya Muneuji, mayor of Ward 8. I was so immersed that I didn’t notice before, but that must mean that the boy selling the cream puffs is…)
……
(Kurama Ushio, mayor of Ward 9. He’s giving me a very suspicious look. Is that what he looks like normally? Or has he figured out my true identity after seeing my shameful behavior due to the deliciousness of the cream puff?)
I’m very sorry to involve you in my personal conflicts, sir. I would be honored to invite you to accompany me next.
This is…
This is our planetarium. Please, lay yourself upon this zero-gravity bed.
HAMA NICE TRIP. Enjoy your journey.
Ah, yes… Thank you…
(There are many other guests here laying on beds as well… They’re all staring blankly at the ceiling and seem to be very relaxed. Perhaps they are still recovering from the cream puffs.)
(Oh, the lights went off…)
<Welcome to the Anthroposophical Astronomy Club’s Space Spot.>
The cosmos are all around me…!
<The person being projected into the sky right now is you.>
(That’s…the avatar I had created earlier. I can move my arms and legs.)
<Unfortunately, the space shuttle you were on has failed to detach its engine…>
<All of its passengers have evacuated in the shuttle’s emergency pods. You are now lost in space.>
No… No! Take me back to Earth!
(How very immersive. Some guests have completely absorbed themselves into the setting.)
<The pod moves at your will. Let us go together, stranded one.>
<Shattering a hundred million stars and stepping over the Milky Way…>
<In order to deliver to our home planet knowledge as to where life exists.>
AAAAAGHHH! I’m taking a nosedive!
I see! I must overcome this obstacle and return to Earth…!
*pant, pant…* It’s finally over…
<The vast universe… Your mind, your body, and even your personality become nothing in the eyes of the cosmos.>
<You have wings. You have the power to row. You have the will to keep moving without surrendering your body to outer space.>
<What do you wish to do when you return to Earth?>
(I…)
……
I…
Father. Where are you? What are you up to?
Are you well? Are you healthy? Do you remember me?
What is the first thing you want to do when you return home?
I would… Muneuji would like to introduce you to his friends. You already know Uu-chan as a beloved childhood friend, but there are three others besides him.
I was separated from you in this world. And as I live my life in this universe, I continue to hold even more things close to my heart…
Kh… Gh… *cries*
*cries*
Please, sir, have my handkerchief… We are brothers who returned to Earth together, aren’t we?
Yes… We are. Thank you, young man.
The sky…is so blue.
The heart…can feel so light.
…Excuse me, sir. Thank you very much for everything today.
Yes, let us venture together again someday… To the great cosmos.
Yes. We shall.
Young man.
Oh, you’re the old man from earlier.
What is it? Sorry, I’m a little busy right now, so—
Salt from Shodoshima.
Hm?
The secret ingredient in your mandarin cream puffs. That glistening aftertaste was salt, was it not?
Oh… You sure know a lot about sweets, old man.
Hmph. You deserve a handshake for this wonderful confection that I had the pleasure of encountering, kind young man.
Ah… Sorry. I don’t really like touching people.
I see. That is a shame, but I understand.
Then I will be taking my leave.
…HAMA NICE TRIP!
Hm! HAMA NICE TRIP.
(I never would’ve guessed that someone like me could come to an honest understanding with a stranger like that. Sweets can do anything.)
(I’m…so glad I joined this fandom and found my oshi.)
Footnotes
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A reference to Gravity (2013). ↩