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2 comments
All of the quoted lines are from the same scene. Attempted translations after the quoted Japanese. I included numbers if someone only wants to address part of it.
[1]
(Preceding line for context) 「え…？」 (A boy was approached by an unknown girl who asks him who he is, and he responds with え)
> 少年は黒猫と黒い少女の顔を交互に見比べる**ようにしながら**、そんな風に間抜けたような声を返した…
While the boy tried to compare the faces of the black cat and black girl alternately, he replied with a voice that came out like that.
Q: The grammar in bold combines ながら (‘while’) and [ようにする](https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B) (‘to make sure to’ or ‘to try to’). What happens to the meaning when the two are used together?
Also what is the 間 doing after そんな風に? I initially thought 間抜け (‘stupid’) was being used but then I saw that preceding よう was actually a verb, 抜けた.
[2]
> 黒い少女はまるで見きりを付けた**かのようにして**彼に背を向けてしまった。
The black girl, as if she had given up, turned her back on him.
Q: In bold I think is [かのように](https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/682) with して, but how does the presence of the して effect the meaning?
[3]
> 瞬間、少年は理解し難い衝動ともいうべきものに弾き押**されるようにして**かけだしていた。
That moment, the boy, pushed by what could be called a hard to understand urge, started running. (Context: the girl who asked him a question left as he didn’t answer. Now he’s running to find her)
Q: What happens to the meaning when ようにして is used after a passive verb?
で外出れるから
how is this read?