20th Century Boys
	 Volume 3 : Hero With a Guitar
	  Chapter Twenty-Six
	   Classmate

 - Page 79 -

[Osaka]

Comedians: It's finally time.
	Yes, finally time.

Sign: No Unauthorized Entry

Comedians: For the great stage we've always dreamed of!!
	Yes, always dreamed of!!
	And when we wake up from the dream, we're in the squalid outskirts of...
	Wait a minute!!

Chapter 26 : Classmate

 - Page 80 -

Comedians: It's just right over there, the Palace of Laughs!!
	Ohhh, the Palace of Laughs!!
	The curtain rolls up, up, up.
	Yes, the curtain raises.
	The audience is all sitting right out there.
	Audience right out there!!
	Can you hear me, everybody in the Alps Stands?!
	This ain't the Koushien!!

(Note: There is a section of seats at the Koushien stadium called the "Alps Stands".)

Comedians: And that's how our routine begins.
	Ohhh, I'm so nervous.

 - Page 81 -

Comedians: Here they come, one after another!!
	After another?
	Listen up, sonny...
	You're gonna die laughin'!!
	DIE?!

Guard: Hey!!  Whatchall doin' back there?!
	What's with them clothes ya got on?!  Who are ya, performers?

Comedians: W...  wha'shuh we do?
	Change 'a plans.
	Take this!!

 - Page 82 -

Guard: Wah!!

Comedians: Deal with expectations!!

Guard: H...  hey wait, you two!!
	Whadyall throw on me?!
	Heyyyy!!
	Ugh...  I'm soakin'.
	Nasty!!
	Wha's this...?

 - Page 83 -

Paper: ATTACK ON THE "PALACE OF LAUGHS"
	Mysterious Virus Lands in Japan

 - Page 84 -

Kenji: That was my idea, too.

Paper: ATTACK ON THE "PALACE OF LAUGHS"
	Mysterious Virus Lands in Japan

Chapter 26 : Classmate

 - Page 85 -

Yukiji: No...
	But that's...

Kenji: It's natural you find it hard to believe...
	Anyone who would take that crazy story for truth has to be nuts...

Yukiji: ...no, but...

Kenji: You probably think I've got some plan to fight this...
	I wish I had some kind of plan, myself...
	Because of something I thought of as a kid...
	Thousands of people have died...
	And it's my fault...
	Because I thought up that ridiculous story...

 - Page 86 -

Kenji: It's my fault...
	My fault...

Yukiji: Kenji...

Kenji: It's all my fault!!
	That Donkey was killed, too...

Yukiji: Kenji!!
	This is NOT your fault.
	Everybody imagines things when they're children.
	Plus...
	What you thought of back then wasn't to create an evil conspiracy...
	It was to protect the world from that evil conspiracy.

 - Page 87 -

Kenji: I'm so stupid...
	I could never do something like that...
	What an idiot I was...
	And because of my idiocy...
	Even poor innocent Kanna is...

<<Friend: You can't shoot...
	Kanna's father, can you?

 - Page 88 -

<<Kanna: Daaaaaa!!

Yukiji: What about Kanna-chan?

Kenji: Nah...
	Nothing...
	The reason why I called you...
	Was because I thought I'd go to that "Friend" Victim's meeting...

 - Page 89 -

Kenji: I'll tell them everything...
	Let as many people know about this as I possibly can...

Yukiji: If we can't trust the police, then...
	Yeah...
	At least we can trust my friend Ichihara, the lawyer.
	The next meeting is this weekend...

Kenji: Pathetic...
	We talked about saving the WORLD when we were little...
	And this is the extent of what we can do now as adults...

Yukiji: That's not right.
	Remember your ideas from back then...
	If you remember where the conspiracy is supposed to attack next, we can protect against it.

 - Page 90 -

Kenji: But I can't...

Yukiji: Wha...

Kenji: No matter how desperately I try...
	I just can't recall what comes next...

Yukiji: Well, let's at least get help from our friends.
	Tomorrow will be a good opportunity...

Kenji: Tomorrow...?  Wasn't the victim's meeting on the weekend...?

Yukiji: Oh my God, did you forget already?

Kenji: What?

Yukiji: Tomorrow's the class reunion.

 - Page 91 -

[Despite all that, Yukiji didn't show up at the reunion the next day.]

People: HAHAHAHAHA

Kenji: What are you doing?!  Hurry up!!

Yukiji: You know what my job is!!

Kenji: Yeah, you're a Narc.

Yukiji: I'm a customs official!!
	A drug-sniffing dog handler!!
	My dog...  Blue Three...

Kenji: Did that stupid mutt bite another tourist?

Yukiji: He found some white powder!!

 - Page 92 -

Phone: (click)

Kenji: Goddamn...

[The class reunion was no place to bring up the subject in question...]
[Gucci, the class representative...]

Gucci: Y'see, my son's got exams right now, and...

[Is now the Director of Finances at the Oote city bank...  still the big man.]
[Nobuo, the doctor's son...  became a doctor, as planned.]
[Koizumi always had a weak stomach...  seems as frail as ever.]

 - Page 93 -

Kenji: {It's nice that I can see some people and remember their names...
	But some of these people I don't recall at all...
	And it's not like you can just ask them their names...
	Yoshitsune, Maruo...  do you guys
	even know who you're talking to?
	Human memory's such a...
	Or maybe it's just my memory...}

Fukubei: Yo!

 - Page 94 -

Fukubei: Haven't changed a bit, Kenji.

Kenji: Uh...  yeah.

Fukubei: What's up?

Kenji: Uh...  nothin'.
	{Shit, who is he...?
	Think, think, think...}

Fukubei: I wanted to talk with you about something.

Kenji: Ah...
	F...  FUKUBEI?!

 - Page 95 -

Fukubei: Don't call me that...  I'm too old for that nickname...

Kenji: Ah...  ahahaha...

Fukubei: You look good, Kenji.

Kenji: Huh?  Uh, yeah...  I guess...

Fukubei: You or Otcho...
	I had to talk to one of you.

Kenji: Oh, yeah...  well...
	I...  don't think Otcho's coming...

Fukubei: Actually...
	I can't say it too loud in here...
	My wife's got caught up in some creepy cult...
	So I checked out lots of sources for info...
	And the stuff that this cult's leader, "Friend" says...  are exactly the same as what you and Otcho made up back then.

 - Page 96 -

Fukubei: First I thought you were "Friend", but that's not it.
	...so I tried to remember everyone who knew about that stuff...
	Me...  you...  Yoshitsune...
	Maruo...  Keroyon...  Mon-chan...
	Donkey...
	And Otcho...
	And then...
	There's one more...

 - Chapter 26 Owari -