BRONZE: COMMENTARY AND TRANSLATION

by Serenade (wish4wings@yahoo.com)

Updated 23 September 1998

Latest version can be found at http://members.xoom.com/fireflower/bronze

BOOK 1

Well, I can't say I'm too fond of the cover art. The image is almost a 
solid block of colour, and the face (pupiless and violet-shadowed) is 
creepy. The black tangle of hair reminds me of some beast-woman. It's 
harsher than the elegantly stylised lines and stark blood-on-white colours 
of Zetsuai 1989. The only BRONZE cover I really like so far is Volume 3's. 
Still, the presentation is very nice - Tong Li has kept the matt dustjacket 
and gold-lettered title used for the Zetsuai manga.

ACT 1

Act 1 opens with Koji in a clinch with an attractive woman. She turns out 
to be one of the staff working with him on the photo shoot he's doing. He's 
wearing a military uniform (not bad!) with Nazi regalia (hmm). They're 
interrupted by Koji's agent, Toshiyuki, who becomes distressed by Koji's 
behaviour ("You're even making passes at the hairstylist!").

As Koji takes up various poses for the photographers, he thinks back on 
recent events. <Last night, he came down with a fever again...>

The story flashes back to the previous day, where Izumi is on the soccer 
field, doing what he does best. (Why is it that I can't picture him at, 
say, a video arcade?). This segues into a sequence at the apartment Koji 
and Izumi share. Izumi is vigorously denying that he's unwell, but Koji 
won't accept his protestations.

Izumi:	Haven't I told you that my body temperature is a bit higher than 
	normal people's? [Could this be connected with his fiery nature?]
Koji:	Do you call 38.2 degrees 'a bit higher'?!
Izumi:	I'm telling you, it's nothing! It'll be gone by tomorrow morning.
Koji:	No way!

Izumi admits that he's kind of hungry (he looks so cute peering out from 
under the blanket!), and Koji immediately rushes off to fix him something 
to eat. He's never been near a kitchen before, though. (Come to think of 
it, did he do any cooking in Zetsuai? I can only remember Izumi ever 
preparing meals.)

Well, following the time-honoured comedic tradition, you expect him to 
burn the food. I'm not sure exactly what it is he ends up bringing to 
Izumi. But while he's serving the meal...

Izumi:	What happened to your hair?!

He grabs hold of a mass of shrivelled ends, while Koji goes 'ow!'

Koji:	Nothing! It was my first time using a gas stove, so...
Izumi:	You're hopeless... How could you burn your hair like that?
Koji:	Never mind, it's no big deal. It'll grow back quickly.

Izumi is still holding Koji's hair in his fingers, looking at it wistfully.

Izumi:	Why do you grow your hair so long?
Koji:	I... I have my reasons.
Izumi:	Reasons? What reasons?
Koji:	I don't want to say...
Izumi:	Why not?
Koji:	Because it's kind of sissyish.
Izumi:	(grabbing Koji's shirt) Tell me!
Koji:	Because I made a pledge before God.
	A classmate of mine in primary school told me that this was a 
	way of making a wish come true.
	I swore that until my wish came true, I would never cut my hair!

There is a flashback to a young Koji, waiting desolately at the soccer 
field for another glimpse of young Izumi, who never appeared there again. 
<Izumi! I will find you someday!>

(My heart ached when I realised just what his precious wish was. Poor Koji!)

The next day, they meet Serika at the soccer match.

Ser:	Nanjo! You cut your hair! Why?

He's had the burnt ends trimmed off, though it still falls past his 
shoulders.

Koji:	Does it look bad?
Ser:	Not at all! It's very stylish.

Koji smiles dazzlingly.

Koji:	Serika, you look very cute too.

Serika goes all faint at having that megawatt smile focused on her. Izumi 
has to support her while Koji, looking abashed, says, "I didn't mean to..."

Izumi:	You didn't get into trouble with the company, did you?
	For cutting your hair?
Koji:	No, of course not. What about you? Have you recovered yet?
Izumi:	See for yourself! I'm here training hard again, aren't I?
	I told you, a good night's sleep would take care of everything.
Koji:	That's a relief!

Then Izumi's coach shows up.

Coach:	Izumi!
Izumi:	Coach!
Coach:	You're doing very well! Even the opposing team's coaches are
	praising you! I hear that some people from the soccer association 
	are coming to watch you play at the next match. Keep on doing your
	best!
Izumi:	I will!
Ser:	Takuto! When you go to Italy, don't forget to bring back presents!
Izumi:	Silly goose. I don't know yet if I'll even get to go.

Koji looks troubled and sad at this.

Izumi:	Oh yeah... Koji! What time do you finish work today?
Koji:	About ten. Why?
Izumi:	I don't have to go to work tonight. The place is shutting down
	temporarily. So I thought I'd cook something special for you to
	try tonight. Something strange.

This is a reference to Koji's cooking disaster. Izumi runs off laughing, 
while Koji looks annoyed at this dig, and Serika asks, puzzled, "Something 
strange?"

Koji watches Izumi playing on the soccer field, admiring his strength and 
beauty, but thinking about how he mustn't do anything to hurt him ever 
again.

Koji thinks: <Oh God! Please, let me be the only one who suffers this pain!>

The scene cuts to Koji drowning his sorrows in a bar. He's with one of the
women on his staff - Aya the designer.

Aya:	Koji. You've had too much to drink.
Koji:	Ngh...
Aya:	You should go home. Don't you have to get up early for work 
	tomorrow?
Koji:	Let me stay over, please? Aya!
Aya:	Before, you were all over the hairstylist; now you're chasing the
	designer? You're not even getting through the door.
	Go home. I'll drop you off.
Koji:	I'm not going...
Aya:	What?
Koji:	I can't... go back there...

Koji thinks: <In the past month, I haven't touched him at all, or even said 
"I love you". That's why he's been so relaxed around me.>

But Koji's self-restraint is clearly taking its toll on him, as he 
struggles with his repressed longing for Izumi.

Meanwhile, Izumi is waiting for Koji to come home. ("Why is he so late?") 
The clock is showing midnight. Their dinner is on the table, untouched. 
Finally Izumi stretches out on the couch and falls asleep. 

It's very late by the time Koji slips back. (He'd ended up finding female 
companionship after all.) He sees Izumi on the couch, tossing in the 
throes of some nightmare. The words he is calling in his sleep make Koji 
realise he is dreaming about the time Koji tried to force himself on him. 
Night after night, Izumi has been haunted by the same dreams. Koji is 
wracked with guilt at Izumi's obvious suffering. He promises the oblivious 
Izumi that he'll never touch him again, and pleads for him to stop crying.

The next morning, Izumi wakes up to find Koji asleep against the side of 
the couch. 

Izumi:	Koji! Hey, Koji!
Koji:	Ngh... Is it morning? I'm back...
Izumi:	Your breath stinks of alcohol! Get away!
Koji:	Uh... Sorry!
	I'm really sorry about last night. I had to work late.

He mentions something about eating alone, or eating out [not sure what], 
and enjoying it.

Izumi suddenly turns away and says, "Well, I don't blame you."

Now Koji looks distressed. "I... I'm sorry! Are you mad?" He says something 
about Izumi having prepared dinner and then Koji not showing up.

Izumi:	(back still turned) What can anyone do about it? It's work.
Koji:	(reaching out his hand) Izumi...

Izumi pulls away violently. 

Izumi:	Are you trying to cloud me in the same smell that's clinging to 
	you? The smell of a woman's perfume? You disgust me!

Koji catches hold of Izumi's wrist.

Izumi:	That... hurts...
Koji:	Why? Why are you talking like this?

Koji's thinking: <I didn't intend this to happen! Please, God! I don't want 
to hurt him again!>

Izumi:	Let go of me!

Montage of pictures against a black background, along with a short passage 
(a kinda rough translation follows):

Even if there were a million people in the world who needed me,
even if each of them was willing to die for me,
if the one I loved didn't want me,
I'd rather those million people died!

If the one I loved didn't need me,
what use would I be?
If you are not with me,
I hurt so much I can't breathe!

[Talk about 'desperate love'! ;_;]

Koji:	You're not... jealous... are you?
Izumi:	What? What kind of nonsense are you talking? You crazy bastard.
Koji:	How can you be saying these kinds of things?
	Are you trying to raise my hopes?
Izumi:	Raise your hopes? What do you mean?
Koji:	When you say... these things...

Koji's thinking: <I can't! I mustn't say anything! I mustn't say it!>

Koji:	You make me wonder... whether you...
	<Don't say it!>
	... like me too.

Izumi just stares at him.

Koji:	Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten that I love you?

Izumi clenches his fists.

Izumi:	Is that so? I can't tell at all. Every night when you come home,
	you reek of some woman's perfume!

They end up having a bitter fight. Izumi walks out in a rage, leaving Koji 
to think in despair, <He's probably never coming back.>

Izumi meets with the officials at his school. They tell him that they've 
sent a videotape of one of his matches to the soccer people in Italy, and 
they've already expressed their interest in him. Izumi isn't reacting as 
enthusiastically as the officials expected, however. They suggest that he 
come with them to Italy next week to witness professional soccer with his 
own eyes. Then he might be able to make a decision about his future.

Afterwards, Izumi is working his shift as a waiter at Club D, but his 
thoughts are whirling. <I can go to Italy, and truly devote myself to 
playing soccer! It seems like a dream - I can hardly believe it.>

He detects a familiar scent from a nearby table where two women are 
sitting. He asks, "Excuse me ma'am, that perfume you're wearing..." She 
replies, "Oh, it's called 'Poison'. Do you like it, young man?" Izumi 
says, "Uh, no, sorry to have troubled you..." He beats a hasty retreat, 
thinking, <I really am an idiot.>

One of the other waiters tells Izumi that he can take a break now. Izumi 
goes into the staffroom out the back. He's thinking, <That perfume 
actually doesn't smell too bad... But then why did I feel so disgusted 
before?> He thinks back to Koji's words: <Are you jealous?>

The television in the staffroom is on. The screen shows Koji Nanjo, who is 
about to perform the title song from his new album 'BRONZE'. The lyrics 
include the verse from the montage earlier on:

If the one I loved didn't need me,
what use would I be?
If you are not by my side,
I can't even breathe...

Koji's voice fades into silence. In the studio, the technicians are 
bewildered. "Why isn't any sound coming through?" They realise it's 
because Koji has stopped singing. "Has he forgotten the lyrics? What do 
we do now?"

Koji's thinking, <I can't make the words come out...> Then he says out 
loud, "I've decided not to sing anymore."

Offstage, Toshiyuki nearly has a heart attack. "What is Nanjo doing?!" The 
director yells for them to cut to a commercial break, but Shibuya counters 
him. He seems to want to let Koji say his piece.

And Koji does. "I want to be with him, I want to share his life. If I give 
up my singing, maybe it will touch his heart.

"No matter how much I sing, I can't find a way of letting him know how I 
feel about him. So why not stop singing?

"Maybe someday he will decide he needs me after all..."

[Note: spoken pronouns are gender neutral in Chinese. Hence Koji's words 
would not indicate to a listener whether the subject was male or female.]

Then they cut to a commercial break. Lots of viewers are flooding the 
switchboard with calls, so Shibuya says that after the break, they should 
make an announcement explaining how Koji's message was just part of a new 
song.

Izumi has seen and heard all this on tv. While the conversation around him 
is buzzing with discussion of this 'new song' ("I thought it was real! It 
shocked me for a minute!"), he is standing in silent thought. <It hurts... 
My heart is aching. Koji...>

Then Shibuya shows up. "Long time no see! How've you been?" He asks if 
Izumi can step outside for a few minutes. They have a long conversation.

Then Izumi returns home, thinking about all the things they've discussed. 
On entering, his foot knocks into an empty wine bottle. Koji's lying on 
the bed, his face buried in his arms.

Izumi:	I can't stand it anymore! You've gone and gotten drunk again.

Koji raises his head. Izumi is sitting on the edge on the bed, facing away 
from him.

Izumi:	You should cut down on smoking, drinking, and chasing women.
	Otherwise your health will suffer.

Koji suddenly wraps his arms around Izumi in a tight embrace.

Koji:	Izumi! I thought for sure this time you wouldn't come back.
	Izumi... Izumi...
Izumi:	Koji... Do you really love me?

Koji releases him. They look at each other.

Izumi:	Do you still want to hold me, even now?
Koji:	You saw what happened on tv, didn't you? So you came to offer me
	sympathy.

Izumi is angered by this suggestion. "Have some more respect for me! Do 
you think that just because I feel some sympathy, I'll let another guy 
touch me?"

Izumi says something about what he's been enduring recently, and Koji 
embraces him again. "Izumi! I love you! I don't know what to do. I can't 
help myself. I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to be separated 
from you either! I can't stop being in love with you!"

Izumi's expression seems kind of sad and distant.

Izumi:	I... really like your songs.
	Please tell me something...

The following sequence by Izumi is a good example of Minami Ozaki's 
trademark intercutting of speech and thought. It's an effective technique, 
but it makes translation difficult!

<What can I do? This man has devoted his entire being to loving me, and I 
howl at the sky that I alone can save him!>

"Is there a kind of love where you want to totally possess the other 
person? Where even if they plead and beg, you still pursue them, to 
possess them by force?"

<But if I just pretend to like him back, won't that hurt him even more? 
And it would be a despicable thing to do.>

<People are always thinking about themselves! They don't want to lose!>

"Even if it will destroy everything you cherish?"

<Koji... Why do you gaze at me with that look in your eyes?>

<Koji, are you crying?>

They finally fall asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Koji wakes up to find breakfast left for him on the 
table, along with a note:

"Last night, there was something I didn't tell you. I'm leaving for Italy 
today. I'll be staying there for a week, watching soccer tournaments. I 
want to see real soccer with my own eyes, and test my own skill. I knew 
you wouldn't want me to go, so that's why I didn't say anything. I'll be 
back soon..."

Koji becomes extremely agitated by this news. He swings onto his motorbike 
and roars off to the airport, hoping to catch Izumi. He's thinking, <Why? 
Why did you have to leave so suddenly?>

<A week? Seven days? Even one minute is too long! I don't want to be apart 
from you for even a second!>

<Are you abandoning me? No! You can't! Please don't go!>

<Your scent still lingers. I won't be separated from you!>

[My own thoughts are, "Come on! He's only going away for a week!"]

<If I can express my feelings through my heart, then I don't need a body!>

<Nor do I need speech!>

<Eyes, ears, hands, feet... I don't need any of these!>

And we see, in slow-mo, the bike skidding towards a car, travelling too 
fast to stop.

<If only our spirits could communicate, no matter how far apart we were...>

They collide - the bike is thrown into the air - 

<But who would ever believe in that kind of nonsense?>

- and Koji lands hard on the concrete, to lie motionless, covered in blood.

<Someone, please, put an end to my life!>

<Please come and kill me now!>

END OF ACT 1

ACT 2

Koji is having visions of Izumi.

<Izumi...>

<Izumi?>

<Why are you crying?>

<Izumi, please don't cry! I'll be with you very soon!>

We see that Koji is lying in a pool of blood on the road, his fallen 
motorcycle nearby.

<I must go... I have to go to him! He's crying...>

<But why can't I move?>

Koji is rushed to hospital. Reporters are already converging there. 
Shibuya, Toshiyuki, and other company staff have to force their way 
through the crowd.

Meanwhile, Izumi is about to board the plane to Italy. He feels strangely 
uneasy about leaving Koji the way he did, but gets on the plane anyway.

Shibuya and Toshiyuki wait in the corridor while the doctors try to save 
Koji's life. Shibuya knows that Izumi was leaving for Italy today, and 
guesses that Koji was following him to the airport. He's pretty upset. 
("I hate hospitals!" he says, probably remembering the time his sister 
spent there before her death from haemophilia.)

Koji, still unconscious, is having a dream where he sees the young Izumi.

<Izumi...? Izumi...>
<Why is he so little?>
<I'm dreaming about the past.>
<The first time I saw him was when he was little.>
<Very adorable...>
<Are you crying?>
<Izumi, why are you crying?>
<I'll be with you soon.>
<If I'm here with you, you don't need to be afraid!>
<Are you always like this, secretly weeping to yourself? Izumi.>
<Don't cry! There's nothing to worry about.>
<If I'm by your side, you won't be alone anymore!>
<I'll be with you very soon...>
<My body... won't move...>
<Why?>
<Oh, I remember...>
<I think I was in an accident...>
<I was chasing after him on my motorcycle, because he left me all alone!>
<Am I... already dead?>

Then Koji sees a vision of Izumi's face, present and past images 
overlapping, but both angry, both with tears trailing from their eyes. 
The Izumis say, "Liar! You liar!"

The doctors emerge from the operating room, but although they've done 
their best, the news isn't good. They say something about the external 
injuries not being very serious, but there was trauma to the head. It's 
possible Koji could end up as a human vegetable.

Shibuya gets very upset. He starts yelling at Koji, while Toshiyuki tries 
to restrain him. "Koji, you bastard! Stop playing games! Wake up!"

And Koji stirs.

From his lips come a few murmured words: "Izumi... Don't tell him... car..."

Everyone is shocked that he has managed to speak. But he falls into 
silence once more. Koji can only complete the sentence in his head.

<Please don't tell Izumi I've been in a car accident!>

And he hears the echo of Izumi's voice again, whispering, <You liar...>

The news broadcasts are reporting Koji's accident. We see the reactions of 
various people as they hear about it: Izumi's sister Serika; Koji's fans; 
the megastar Minamimoto, with whom Koji has had several liaisons; Minako 
Sasaki, a girl who went out with Izumi for a short while in Zetsuai.

The hospital where Koji is being held is surrounded by news crews and 
hysterical fans. Serika goes there, and finds Shibuya. He explains the 
situation to her, and suggests that her brother may be the only one who 
can bring Koji out of his coma.

Meanwhile, Izumi is in Italy, touring the various soccer fields to get a 
taste of professional soccer. He gets frustrated with the way a lot of the 
players treat him so condescendingly.

As he lies in bed exhausted, he wonders why Koji doesn't answer his calls. 
<Is he mad at me?> He wonders whether Koji's taking care of himself - 
whether he's eating three meals a day, or whether he's just drinking all 
the time and forgetting to eat. (Aww!)

He falls asleep, dreaming he is little again. He feels someone patting him 
on the head, a warm and reassuring touch. He thinks it's his father, but 
then he realises it's actually Koji. Koji tells him, <I love you. Izumi, I 
love you!>

And then, <Goodbye!>

Izumi wakes with a start, his heart racing. He thinks, <Was that just a 
dream? Koji!>

When Izumi returns from Italy, Shibuya and Serika are waiting for him at 
the airport. Serika runs over to her brother, crying, "Takuto! You big 
idiot!"

Shibuya says, "Koji... He's dying, Izumi."

Izumi is stunned. "What? What did you say?"

<Dying?>

[Note: in the BRONZE OVA, Lupin Gang Anime translates this as 'dead' 
instead. I'm not too sure about what the manga actually says, since 
Chinese doesn't uses tenses like English does. I've used 'dying' because 
that makes more sense to me personally. Does anyone have any enlightening 
information?]

Shibuya continues, "When he was chasing after you that day, he wasn't 
wearing a safety helmet, and he was travelling at 100 kilometres an hour." 
He tells Izumi about the details of the accident. "It hurts to watch him 
die like this..."

He grabs Izumi by the collar. "Why? Why did you have to abandon him, Izumi?"

Izumi laughs softly.

Izumi:	No way. It can't be true. This joke has gone too far.
	Shibuya! I don't believe you! Tell me, it's not true, is it?
	Tell me! It's all just a joke, right?

His eyes are burning with angry tears.

Shi:	There's a car waiting outside. Come on!

At the hospital, Shibuya explains Koji's condition in detail. Izumi thinks 
back on the dream he had where Koji told him he loved him and then said 
goodbye. He suddenly lets out his turbulent feelings in a violent outburst.

Izumi:	Koji! You bastard! Wake up!
	Damn you! Did you think it would be that easy to leave?
Shi:	Izumi!
Ser:	Takuto! Don't be like this!
Izumi:	Didn't I tell you I'd be back soon? You idiot!
	Didn't you believe me?

Toshiyuki tries to restrain Izumi.

Izumi:	Why? Why won't you wake up? I'm calling you!
	Wake up! Koji!
	Let go of me! I'll hit him awake! Let... let me go!

Suddenly, a sharp pain flashes through him. He falls to the floor, 
clutching the place on his hip where his scar is. He passes out.

Izumi is having a vision of the day he received that scar. His younger 
self is lying on the floor, clutching his left side. Blood streams from 
the wound there, leaking into a puddle around him.

Izumi:	Ouch... It hurts... Mother! It hurts!

His mother is on the phone. "Please send an ambulance over! Hurry! My 
child has been injured! Please save Takuto!"

Izumi:	Father! Father, please wake up!

His mother sits by the body of his father, the bloody knife pointed at 
her own throat. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Takuto! Please forgive me! Forgive 
me, Takuto..."

Izumi:	No! Mother! Why are you doing this?

We learn that while it was too late for his father, the ambulance got 
there in time to save Izumi's life and his mother's. She was sentenced to 
12 years in prison for killing Izumi's father, leaving her three children 
alone.

Young Izumi is curled up, crying to himself. "Please help me! I'm hurting. 
Help me, please... anyone! There's no one at all..."

Then a voice calls out his name, and a hand reaches out to enfold him in 
an embrace. "Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'll never leave your side..." (No 
prizes for guessing who this is.)

Koji:	I promise I'll bring you happiness!
	But... is it already too late?
	Would you accept me now? Izumi...

Izumi snaps awake.

He's lying in a hospital bed. Shibuya's standing nearby, sipping a can of 
drink. Shibuya explains that Izumi had collapsed earlier, but everything 
seems okay now. He says that Koji will be moved into this room later, and 
asks Izumi to stay at the hospital for a while. Shibuya tells Izumi he'll 
help him arrange a leave of absence from school and soccer.

Just before Shibuya leaves, he says to Izumi, "I'd thought that hearing 
your voice would rouse Koji from his coma, but it didn't work." He adds, 
"Just now, it looked like you were having some sort of dream..."

Izumi thinks: <I wasn't having a dream! It wasn't a dream! It was... real!>

Izumi touches his scar lightly. "It hurts..."

Izumi stays by Koji's bedside, day after day, watching over him, waiting 
for him to stir, and turning over thoughts in his head. Sometimes he sits 
in silence, sometimes he can't help the tears sliding down his face, 
sometimes he yells at Koji's still form. He berates Koji for running after 
him, for continuing to chase women even after declaring his love, and for 
not trusting Izumi's word that he would return.

Izumi:	Damn you! You... you told me you would bring me happiness! Koji!

Izumi, weeping, kisses Koji on the lips, then slumps over his body.

Izumi:	If you die now, I'll never forgive you!

Many days have passed, with no change. One day, Izumi receives a visitor. 
It is Minako Sasaki, the girl who had a crush on him in Zetsuai 1989. 
Izumi had gone out with her for a while, in an attempt to deny Koji's 
attentions. They broke up after Koji assaulted her in jealous rage and 
accused Izumi of using her to hide from his feelings.

Sas:	It's been a while, Izumi-sempai.
Izumi:	Sasaki?
Sas:	I... really can't endure it any longer!
	Hasn't he regained consciousness yet?

She storms past a confused Izumi, to stand by Koji's bed and yell at him. 
(Seems like a lot of people do that: Shibuya, Izumi, now Minako...)

Sas:	How long are you planning to sleep for?
	You've already taken sempai away from me - 
	why are you doing this as well?
	If you're making sempai's life miserable, I won't forgive you!
	If you're making him cry, I'll never forgive you!
Izumi:	Sasaki...
Sas:	I'm done now. I've wanted to tell him this for a long time.
	I've said what I wanted to say. I won't be coming back again.
Izumi:	Wait...

As she turns to leave, Izumi catches hold of her arm.

Izumi:	Wait a moment, Sasaki!
Sas:	Izumi-sempai? Are you happy?

Izumi looks taken aback by the question. Minako turns and hugs the guy who 
came here with her, both of them flushing crimson.

Sas:	I'm very happy!
	This is my boyfriend!
	He carries only me in his heart! He loves me and me alone!
	This makes me very happy!

Izumi looks pained. He thinks of Koji telling him, "I love you, Izumi!"

Izumi:	Sasaki! Thank you. I'm very sorry!

She looks surprised, blushing, and then departs with a cheerful wave.

A new visitor arrives - a sophisticated-looking woman wearing sunglasses 
and carrying a huge bouquet of roses. She says, "There's quite a crowd 
here! Is the prince still resting?"

Shibuya looks nonplussed. "Miss Minamimoto! Long time no see. I didn't 
think I'd run into you here..."

Minamimoto sweeps past them. As she does so, Izumi thinks, <That 
perfume...!>

Minaminoto lays the flowers on Koji's bed, and leans across to kiss him on 
the lips. Izumi turns red, while Shibuya discreetly explains to him about 
Minamimoto and Koji's longstanding relationship. Izumi recognises the 
perfume as one he's smelled on Koji before.

Minamimoto is caressing Koji's face lightly. "How tragic... can't even a 
princess' kiss wake you up? Isn't even a kiss enough?"

Izumi is thinking: <What's happening? What's happening to me? Why does my 
heart... hurt so much?>

Izumi is staring at Minamimoto, a stricken look on his face. She turns to 
him and says, "You look just like an abandoned kitten."

As she leaves, she adds, "If this keeps dragging out, take care that the 
prince isn't snatched away by some demon woman! Princess."

Toshiyuki comes in, telling Izumi that his soccer coach and the head 
teacher are waiting to talk to him. When he sees Minamimoto, he comments 
on how many visitors they've had today.

Izumi is still thinking, <An abandoned kitten? Is she talking about me?>

<Am I abandoned?>

At the meeting, the head teacher and the coach try to convince Izumi to 
return to school and to soccer. They try to impress upon him the 
importance of continuing with his training. They tell him that even if 
he decides not to go to Italy, there are opportunities for him here. They 
express sympathy for his family circumstances and his friend's accident, 
but they emphasise that he has his own life to lead. "What do you want to 
do with your life?"

This thought strikes Izumi with some force. He realises, <Even if he 
should die, I'll still be alive.>

He suddenly grips his side. "It hurts... damn it! Why does it hurt so 
much? It's an old wound - why should it hurt so much now?"

[Now this becomes a nightmare to translate - Izumi's thoughts are mingled 
with recalled fragments of conversation, spread out all over the page in a 
non-linear fashion. I'll translate what bits I can, in the format that 
seems most comprehensible.]

<Ten years from now...>
<Twenty years from now...>
<Will I still carry this wound with me?>
<Like an abandoned kitten!>
<What do you want to do with your life?>
<Abandoned?>
<Left behind?>
<Have I been abandoned?>
<Do I have to return to the darkness of a solitary life?>

Izumi:	It's because you touched me... tore open my wounds again!
	Take responsibility for it! Say something!
	Look at me, like the way you used to!

<I love you...>
<I love you...>
<In my heart, there is only you!>
<Izumi-sempai, are you happy?>
<I'm very happy.>
<Because there is someone who is focusing on me with all his heart!>
<Loving me with all his heart!>
<Can't even a princess' kiss wake you up?>

Izumi is kneeling next to Koji's bed, his head bowed in anguish. "It 
hurts! Take responsibility!"

<I'm very happy!>
<Why don't you wake up?>

It's a new day. Izumi has changed into his school uniform. Shibuya spots 
him and questions him.

Shi:	Izumi? Where are you going, dressed like that?
Izumi:	Do you really need to ask?
Shi:	What's that supposed to mean?

Shibuya looks ticked off; Izumi is coldly purposeful.

Izumi:	Even if I stayed with him 24 hours a day, 
	it won't make him wake up if he's not going to wake up.
	If he is going to wake up,
	then it doesn't matter if I'm at school,
	and it doesn't matter if I'm out playing soccer.

Shibuya catches hold of Izumi's arm. "Wait a moment!"

Without turning, Izumi tells Shibuya he needs to concentrate on his 
studies for the sake of the scholarship. There's also a big soccer match 
coming up, and he can't afford to take a break.

Shi:	Is this how you really feel?
Izumi:	Let go!

Shibuya hits Izumi with a solid punch across the jaw.

Shi:	I used to have a younger sister...
	The doctors said she wouldn't survive for more than ten years,
	but she lived to be 13.
	Watching her die, there was nothing I could do.
	There was nothing anyone could do.
	I would have done anything for Madoka.
	I would have granted any wish she had.
	But no matter how much I strove or prayed,
	Madoka still died!	

	A miracle is something that almost never happens.
	That's why it's called a miracle.

	I don't believe Nanjo will really die!
	But he might never wake up either.
	He might stay in a coma forever!
	Izumi, you're the only one who could possibly wake him!

Izumi is walking towards the door. Shibuya yells after him desperately.

Shi:	You're the only one who can bring about a miracle!
	You're the only one who can achieve this!
	Don't you understand yet?
Izumi:	I understand.
	That's why I've decided I have to leave him behind.

Shibuya stares at the closing door in shock. "Izumi...?"

Back at school, Izumi meets with the officials again.

Izumi:	"I've decided to go to Italy!"

END OF ACT 2

END OF BOOK 1