MIS:87: Itadakimasu!

Synopsis

Chiaki accidentally lets slip a part of her home culture, much to everyone's confusion.

Author Notes

This section contains copyrighted content by Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick.

While everyone else digs in, Chiaki immediately draws attention to herself once again (before she even gets to take a bite!), by using one of her customs from back home. "Itadakimasu" - intentionally left untranslated in this instance to make sure there's no mystery as to what she's doing - is a phrase commonly said before meals in Japan. Localizations often turn it into "Thanks for the food" or "Let's eat", and as I understand it, it more literally means "I receive".

And there's nothing wrong with this, of course. But no one else knows what she's doing. Belial comes right out and asks. Micah recalls the amnesia but notes how it doesn't add up. Keegan straight up thinks it's a lousy lie and tries to offer advice on lying better.

But Chiaki continues to struggle. She doesn't want to lie - and she sucks at it - but she thinks she has to. And yet it really doesn't seem like anyone's buying it.

Then Nagisa - the only classmate she's discussed being Unbound with - stands up and suggests that maybe Chiaki should come clean. Is this it? Will she do it? Is she telling her whole class right here and now? How do you think it might go? And what kind of reactions might we expect?

Transcript

This section contains copyrighted content by Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick.

Chiaki Koizumi:

_Itadakimasu.

Belial:

You say something?

Chiaki Koizumi:

Oh, uh... sorry, Belial-san. It's just something we say before meals where I'm from.

Chiaki Koizumi:

Should I not?

Belial:

It's fine. You do you, girl.

Belial:

But uh... Where did you say you were from, again?

Chiaki Koizumi:

......

Chiaki Koizumi:

I, um... didn’t.

Micah:

That's right. I keep forgetting you have amnesia.

Micah:

Though you do seem to know a lot of customs and details about your past.

Keegan:

Is it that you’re hiding something, maybe? Rather than amnesia.

Keegan:

It could explain the sloppy secret keeping.

Keegan:

No offense.

Keegan:

But word of advice: if it's just a matter of hiding your identity, then pretending to forget having magic, or feigning mannerisms would be a bit overkill, don't you think?

Keegan:

It'd be smarter to keep the story simple so there's fewer ways to trip yourself up, right?