Volume 13 Chapter 357 Shirogane Aqua, Declared Surplus for the Second Time in a Row
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
December 14th. On this day, I was declared surplus for the second time in a row.
”Hey! Why do I have to play catch with you!”
”It can’t be helped! We’re just useless right now!!”
Kohina-senpai and I stop playing catch, dropping our hands and knees to the ground¹ in dejection. This is the helpless reality thrust upon us. Rewinding several dozen minutes, Kanon had come running to me as I arrived in a panic.
’Aqua, Nee-san said she’s embarrassed to have you see her face while she’s straining…’
You’ve got to be… kidding me? I never thought I’d be declared surplus again for the exact same reason as Kanon. But if she’s embarrassed, there’s no choice! I love that feminine side of Kotono!!
”Kohina-senpai… I want to be there for Kotono!”
Kohina-senpai stands up slowly and, with an unusually sharp expression, pats my shoulder.
”…Give it up, Aqua. All we can do is play amateur baseball!!”
See! You’re trying to steer things toward amateur baseball again!! What? If amateur baseball is no good, then soccer or basketball? Either way, it’s the same thing!! I push myself up.
”If it’s come to this, I have no choice but to convey my feelings to Kotono while she’s doing her best!!”
”Hey! You’re not about to do something stupid again, are you!?” Kohina-senpai asked.
I dash back to my room and don the cheer squad outfit I wore for the Otomezaki² sports festival. Tightening my headband to psych myself up, I return to the ground. It’s all out of a single-minded desire to support Kotono with everything I have while she’s fighting through this.
”What is with that outfit?”
”Just watch, Kohina-senpai.”
I turn toward the hospital room where Kotono is.
”Kotono—! Do your best—!! I’m right here with you—!!”
I cheer for Kotono with all my might. I’m sorry, Kotono. All I can do, having been declared surplus, is cheer for you with everything I’ve got!! Hey! Kohina-senpai, why are you just standing there in a daze!! Let’s cheer together!!
As I drag Kohina-senpai into giving our best shouts of encouragement, a window near the hospital room opens and Kanon sticks her head out.
”Aqua—! Nee-san says she’s happy for the support, but it’s embarrassing, so please stop—!”
Daaaaaaaamn iiiiiiiiiit! Am I really of no use at all!! As I sink back into the ground in despair, Emily and Kaede emerge with serious faces.
”Nee-san said she wants you to do some random stream to distract her from the pain and anxiety!”
”Yukari, we’re counting on you to take care of Aqua!!”
If that’s the case, leave it to us!! We move to the Shirogane Kingdom³ streaming room and immediately start the broadcast.
”And so, we are starting an emergency stream right now!!”
The moment I start the stream, everyone gathers instantly.
[Wait? Wasn’t today Nee-san’s due date?]
[Birth report incoming!!]
[Uooooooo!]
[Wait! Kohina Yukari started a stream too!]
[The clouds are looking suspicious now.]
[Aqua-sama, did you get declared surplus again by any chance?]
[↑ THAT’S IT!]
[RamenHagetoru: Eh? Aqua-sama is giving birth!?]
[↑ What would Aqua-kun do giving birth!!]
[Is this the amateur baseball stream?]
[↑ Truly lol]
Oh, Kohina-senpai started her stream too. I immediately connect with her via a calling app.
”So, as it happens, I’ve been declared surplus for the second time in a row. I’m Shirogane Aqua. At this rate, a third or fourth time is looking likely. Right, Kohina-senpai?”
”Well, it’s not our fault! We’re not the ones having the baby!!”
Kohina-senpai thumps the desk. Um, Kohina-senpai? That’s bad for the education of the child in Kotono’s belly, so could you please stop?
[RamenHagetoru: Hehe! Kohina-paisen should just get pregnant too!!]
[↑ THAT’S IT!]
[As expected of Hagetoru. This is the true power of the Verification Team⁴!!]
[Yeah, yeah. Kohina Yukari, you should get pregnant with Aqua-sama’s child too!!]
[Sommelier: Eh!? Yukari and Aqua-kun are doing a baby-making stream!?]
[↑ Uoooooooooo!]
[Things are heating up!!]
[Saba-chan: ●REC!]
[Kohina Yukari, you become the mama of Aqua-kun’s baby!]
[While you’re at it, it’s fine if you become Aqua-sama’s mama too!]
But even though it’s a stream, what should we actually do? Just chatting aimlessly with Kohina-senpai like usual won’t have much flavor. That wouldn’t be any different from our daily lives.
”Kohina-senpai, since we’re here, why don’t we play a game?”
”Eh? What are we doing? A baseball game?”
Kohina-senpai, please move on from baseball already. Or is God somehow trying to force us to play baseball no matter what.
”No, no, I don’t mean that kind of game. I’m going to make a quiz about various things regarding Kotono, so Kohina-senpai, could you be the contestant and answer?”
”Fine. I’m good at that kind of thing, so leave it to me!!”
I wonder if that’s true? Kohina-senpai thumps her chest with a look of total confidence.
[Is this the stream of Kohina Yukari-san, who couldn’t get a single question right on a quiz show?]
[The famous actress who’s a regular at the bottom of quiz rankings.]
[Aqua-sama. A quiz is impossible for Kohina Yukari.]
[RamenHagetoru: In a stream to encourage Nee-san, a public humiliation play for Nee-san has begun!]
[↑ Totally that lol!]
[Nee-san, do your best!]
[Nee-san’s going to be so writhed in shame she won’t even feel the pain.]
[↑ Idiot, that’s the whole point!!]
Anyway, what should the first question be? Oh, right. That one’s good.
”So, everyone knows that I, Shirogane Aqua, love Kotono, right? Here’s the question! What is the thing I love most about Kotono!”
”Me, me!”
Kohina-senpai energetically raises her hand. As expected of someone who said they were confident.
”This is easy! Boobs!!”
Kohina-senpai answers with sparkling, pure eyes.
[Correct!!]
[Kohina Yukari… sorry for saying it was impossible earlier!!]
[Well, she wouldn’t miss this one!!]
[RamenHagetoru: Huge butt!!]
[↑ You, idiot! You’ll get whacked later!!]
[Ah, Hagetoru…]
[RIP Hagetoru!!]
[Sommelier: No, no, it’s her tall height!!]
[↑ Why do you guys keep stepping on landmines yourselves lol]
[RIP Sommelier!!]
I nod while crossing my arms. True, I love Kotono’s huge boobs, huge butt, and tall height. But that’s not the number one thing!!
”Buzz! The correct answer is her considerateness. Her kindness in being able to look around and care for those around her!!”
”Hey! That reason is sound, but for you, you should have just normally gone with boobs!!”
Having missed the answer, Kohina-senpai looks frustrated in front of the camera. No, no, I won’t deny that I love boobs. In fact, I love boobs. But surely, making boobs the number one thing I love is, well, just wrong on many levels!!
[Aqua-kun… it’s okay to be honest.]
[Aqua-tan, you actually love boobs the most! Just confess already!!]
[Even though Aqua-sama is answering seriously, it’s hilarious how the surroundings are forcing the boob answer on him lol]
[Nee-san must be writhing in many senses lol]
[I see, neutralizing the pain with an even stronger pain called shame!!]
[RamenHagetoru: Aqua-sama. It seems Nee-san doesn’t mind being praised for her boobs either!!]
[↑ Hey!!]
[Hagetoru. This guy LMAO]
Wait? Kotono said boobs are okay!? Then it’s boobs. No, the comments were flowing too fast and I couldn’t see clearly; it’s probably just my imagination. I compose myself and move to the second question.
”Now for the second question. What is my favorite gesture that Kotono does?”
After racking her brain for a while, Kohina-senpai claps her hands.
”I got it! Kotono-san often crosses her arms, right? So the answer is the gesture of crossing her arms! Because Kotono-san’s big boobs are emphasized when she crosses her arms!!”
I nearly trip over Kohina-senpai’s words. Kohina-senpai, could you please move on from boobs soon? Even a boob-lover like me won’t give such an irreverent answer here!! Though I do love boobs, and I love that gesture!!
[RamenHagetoru: This is the correct answer!]
[As expected, everything concludes with boobs.]
[Boobs, boobs!]
[About the fact that the IQ of the comment section drops suddenly whenever boobs are mentioned.]
[↑ About the fact that it wasn’t that high to begin with.]
[↑ True!!]
[Now that you mention it, Nee-san does cross her arms a lot.]
[Heh, so that was to show off her boobs!!]
[I’ll start crossing my arms to show off my big chest starting tomorrow too!!]
Wait? Isn’t everyone just talking about boobs in the comments? Is it just my imagination.
”Buzz, unfortunately, that’s a miss. The correct answer was when Kotono puts her hand to her chin while lost in thought! It’s a gesture that suits the thoughtful Kotono, and I love the profile she shows then. Or, when she’s with Kanon and the others, the way she occasionally frolics like a child. I’m a man who’s weak to that kind of gap. Also, Kohina-senpai, please move on from boobs already. I won’t deny I love them, though.”
”Gunuuuu! There’s no way anyone could know that!! Next! Next! Make the next one easier!!”
Kohina-senpai stomps her feet, looking clearly frustrated. By the way, Kohina-senpai, that is my favorite reaction of yours. There’s just something I can only intake from the sight of Kohina-senpai being frustrated.
[RamenHagetoru: Breaking News! Nee-san writhing more from shame than labor pains!!]
[Is this the stream that gives Nee-san even more pain?]
[Nee-san’s reached the point where labor isn’t even the main focus lol]
[Sommelier: Good, do more!]
[↑ Seriously, don’t blame me if you get in trouble later!]
[As expected of Aqua-sama, he really watches Nee-san closely.]
[Nee-san, it’s great that Aqua-sama could list so many things he loves!]
[Nee-san probably wanted to hear this when she wasn’t in labor though lol]
[↑ Truly lol]
It can’t be helped. At this rate, Kohina-senpai won’t be able to guess it, so I’ll make the next one an even easier question.
”Now for the third question. What is my favorite part of Kotono’s body?”
”Boobs!”
Raising her hand, Kohina-senpai answered instantly with total confidence. No, like I said. I love boobs too, but let’s move on from boobs already!!
[This time for sure it’s the huge butt!!]
[It’s a tough choice between huge chest and huge butt.]
[Huge Chest Faction VS Huge Butt Faction.]
[Aqua-sama also likes tall girls, so that’s a possibility.]
[Nee-san goes to the gym, so maybe thighs or abs?]
[↑ That’s possible too.]
[Sad news, Aqua-sama has too many fetishes so it’s surprisingly hard.]
[↑ Truly!]
[Good news, thanks to Aqua-sama having many fetishes, many women are saved by being caught in one of them!!]
[↑ Truly!!]
[Wait? Where are Hagetoru and Sommelier?]
[Hagetoru and Sommelier are gone, did Nee-san finally erase them?]
[↑ LOL LMAO]
[RIP Hagetoru, RIP Sommelier!!]
True, I love Kotono’s boobs. Of course, I love her butt, her waist, her height, her thighs, her hair—I love everything!! But among them all, there is one part I love most.
”I’m sorry, but the correct answer was armpits!! I often train at the gym with Kotono, and the armpits after a workout are truly irresistible. Especially the sweaty armpits after the gym, there’s something irresistible about them. That said, sweaty boobs are also hard to give up!! No, actually, it’s everything!! I can’t decide on just one!! Kotono—! I love every part of you—!”
”I’m telling you, there’s no way to know that!! Mukii—!”
Kohina-senpai leaps from her streaming seat and jumps onto me, clinging to me. Wait, Kohina-senpai. Clinging to me just because you can’t get the quiz right is no good. As I spin around on the spot while carrying Kohina-senpai on my back, I hear the sound of someone running outside.
”Aqua—!! It’s born—!!”
”Is it true, Kanon!?”
Hearing Kanon’s words, I frantically dashed toward the hospital room while still carrying Kohina-senpai on my back.
[RamenHagetoru: Breaking News, Nee-san’s delivery complete, both mother and child are healthy!!]
[↑ Uoooooooooo!]
[Yaaaaaaaaaay!]
[Nee-san, congratulations on the birth!!]
[Finally Nee-san is a mom!!]
[Nee-san, I’m so glad the birth went safely!!]
[Sommelier: She said the stream was harder to handle than the labor pains!]
[↑ lol]
[Let’s have Aqua-sama stream every time there’s a birth from now on.]
[Aqua-kun, it’s great that the things you can do besides baseball have increased!]
Ah! Crap, I left the stream running!! What? Kohina-senpai says she’ll go turn it off instead!? Thank you, Kohina-senpai!! I thank Kohina-senpai and run toward the hospital room where my beloved Kotono and my daughter are waiting.
—
Summary:
Aqua is barred from the delivery room because his presence makes Kotono embarrassed while she’s in labor. He and Kohina Yukari start a ‘distraction stream’ to help Kotono through the pain. The stream devolves into a quiz about Aqua’s fetishes regarding Kotono, which mortifies her but successfully distracts her. Finally, Kanon announces the healthy birth of their daughter.
—
Character Insight:
Aqua’s ‘declaration of surplus’ highlights his unique position: he is so loved and his attention is so intense that it becomes a burden in high-stress moments. Despite the comedic fetish quiz, his genuine affection for Kotono’s personality (her considerateness) and his willingness to wear a ridiculous cheer outfit show his deep devotion. Kohina Yukari’s obsession with baseball and her physical comedy provide the perfect foil to Aqua’s earnestness.
—
Behind the Scene:
The ‘surplus’ (戦力外通告) joke is a recurring trope in this series, usually involving Aqua being too ‘idolly’ or distracting during serious events. The comment section mirrors real-world Japanese ‘live’ culture (like NicoNico or YouTube), using specific net-slang and memes.
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T/L:
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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