Editing Golden Time:Volume6 Postscript

<noinclude>==Golden Time 6: Postscript==</noinclude>
===Postscript===

Hay Fever season has started.

In previous years, I'd get a vague, allergy-like feeling when spring rolled around, and I had a sneaking suspicion that might be what it was, but this year, it was far beyond just "vague" or "sort of like."  It wasn't even a matter of "could it be?" anymore; it was painfully obvious that the airborne pollen was absolutely wrecking my mucous membranes.  My brain felt like it was drowning in snot...  A friend I hung out with recently also suffers from hay fever; we walked into a restaurant for lunch, both of us sniffling and congested.  The menu offered a choice between ''gohan'' (Japanese rice) and bread.  "Which one are you getting?" my friend asked.  "I'll go with ''gohan''," I replied.  "Got it.  Excuse me, can we order?"  My friend called the server over.  "We'll have two of this lunch set.  One with ''gohan'' and one with rice."  Time stood still for both me and the server.  ''Gohan'' and rice...?

"Oh!  Oops, I messed up, how embarrassing!" my friend said, blushing.  She hurriedly tried to correct herself: "Sorry, I'll have the ''gohan'' and the ''gopan''!"  ...It gave me the creeps.  The server looked confused, so she demanded, "So which is it?!"  My friend stammered, "Whoa!  Rice, rice!  I want rice! Oh wait, no, bread!  I want bread, bread!"  ...Hay fever is a terrifying thing.

For one reason or another, wearing a mask has become essential whenever I go out lately.  My face is too itchy for makeup, a recent salon visit left me with a haircut that's far too short, and I wear denim every day; all in all, at first glance, I'm really starting to look like a middle-aged person of indeterminate gender wandering around town in the middle of the day with their face hidden.

I wish I could at least be seen as a mature woman... no, the truth is, I want to be a girl.  A middle-school girl, to be precise.  I don't even need to be a beautiful girl.  But for my new friend?  She absolutely has to be a blonde.  I'm picturing a stunningly beautiful, mature girl... a returnee with a sharp tongue and top-tier grades, maybe mixed-race, who doesn't really have other friends.  The catalyst for the bond between ordinary me and her was the discovery that we both had a crush on the same boy (a serious, uptight type).  But she's so gorgeous; there's no way I, plain old me, would be the one chosen...  Yet, she feels she's no good either, believing she's too guarded and incapable of acting cute.  Without him ever knowing, we secretly cross paths and share our struggles.  The days go by.  A sudden misunderstanding leaves me isolated in class.  That's when she steps in to defend me: "Hey, you lot... what are you whispering about behind our backs?  If you've got a problem with her, say it to her face like I do!  If you did... anyone would see she's not a bad person at all!"  (Cue the tears.)  Graduation day draws near.  "Honestly?  I actually had a lot of fun going through all this with you."  B-Blonde...  "So, let's settle this properly.  We confess.  Fair and square.  Got it?  The day will be Christmas Eve.  Don't even think about running away!"  And so, nervous as can be, we make our confessions.  His answer?  "I'm sorry.  I can't be with either of you."  It turned out he was harboring a secret crush on his older brother's girlfriend.  We sobbed and collapsed right there on the spot.  Our long-held loves had come to an end.  But there, beside me as I cried my heart out, was the blonde, weeping over her own heartbreak.  That's right.  Through it all, the blonde was right there by my side.  We've laughed together, cried together, and agonized over things together.  Even though I suffered heartbreak, I... I gained a best friend.  But, hey, Blondie... we're going to be apart soon, aren't we?  We're going to different high schools, after all... "What are you talking about?  Nothing's going to change just because we go to different schools.  Heh, I'm the only one allowed to tease you, so there!"  Oh, Blondie!  Honestly...!  Heh, that actually makes me feel a lot better.  Then one day, the two of us went out together... but on the way home, a strange turn of events whisked us away to a mysterious other world!  Separated in a Warring States-style realm teeming with rival warlords, I searched desperately for Blondie.  Along the way, I found allies to help me, and before I knew it, I had become a military strategist serving a certain king.  Three years passed just like that, and the Blondie I'd been searching for all this time suddenly reappeared before me; as the queen of an enemy nation.  Is she being controlled?!  Remember me, Blondie!  Look... that Hijikata-san strap we bought together on our school trip!  Don't you remember it?!  Wait, are you shooting?!  You're aiming right at me?!  Actually, are tens of thousands of soldiers about to fire at me?!  B-Blondieeeee! Nooooooo... Sigh... Hay fever is seriously terrifying.

To everyone who picked up 'Golden Time 6', thank you very much for sticking with the story all the way to the end this time as well.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks to the incredible support you have all shown me, 'Golden Time' is now being adapted into an anime!  The energy you have given me is immense, radiant, and passionate... it serves as my greatest source of daily encouragement.  I offer you my heartfelt thanks.  Thank you for everything!  I intend to keep writing with the hope of touching the hearts of my readers directly... of leaving something behind, however small, that resonates with you.  I look forward to your continued support!

By the way, I am sometimes asked about this at autograph sessions and the like, but the organizations and settings in the original work are not based on any specific real-life models.  The university itself is a fictional setting created for the story, drawing inspiration from various places, such as my own alma mater, the campuses my friends attended, and other universities in the area.  So if you ever find yourself thinking, "It looks a bit like my university, but our life wasn't all carefree fun and games like that," then... I'm sorry!  Please bear in mind that this is purely a work of fiction.

So, once again I thank you so very much everyone who has followed along with us this far!  And to Eiji Komatsu-sensei and my editor, Mr. Yuasa.  I look forward to our continued work together.

:竹宮ゆゆこ
:Takemiya Yuyuko

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