Season: Autumn
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[School Building: Back]
Makoto: …But then, what should we do instead? The truth of the matter is that we caused trouble for Knights. That guilt’s gonna hang around forever, you know?
We can’t just assume it’s all over and done with just because we apologized… and then go back to running wild and picking fights with other units like we usually do.
Leo: Yeah. The reason you lost your nerve and lost sight of yourselves is ‘cause you keep thinking like that. Well, probably. At least that’s how I see it, looking at it from the outside.
Wahaha. You guys are just like Sena right now.
Makoto: We’re like… Izumi-san…?
Leo: Yup. That Sena, he sure put you through a lot and caused loads of trouble for Trickstar, didn’t he… “Yuu-kun”?
Makoto: (Huh? Did he just call me “Yuu-kun”? I thought Tsukinaga-senpai had no clue who I was…?)
Leo: Ahh, so it really is you. Hmm… It was just a guess, but I nailed it.
You’re completely different from what I’ve heard about you, so I wasn’t sure if it really was you.
Wahaha. It seems our Sena’s been a real pain for you, huh. Sorry about that. I’ll apologize for him as the leader of Knights.
Makoto: …It’s fine, it doesn’t bother me anymore. We’ve already made our settlements. Maybe you didn’t know about it, though, since you were gone for a while.
Leo: Yeah, I didn’t. Hearing it for the first time took me by surprise. I never thought Sena would do something so awful.
Compared to me, that guy’s tough as steel. But even then, there’s no way he made it out without a scratch.
He was all beat up, yet didn’t even have the luxury of falling apart, and he stuck hard in place by stubbornness alone.
But he couldn’t handle the pain in his heart, so he went and did something stupid.
Sorry, Yuu-kun! Our Sena caused you trouble! I’m pretty sure he abducted and locked you up all because he didn’t want you to fall apart like I did!
He had to watch up close as I got crushed by all the spite around me-- well, as I got backed into a corner and destroyed myself…
He was probably scared you’d end up the same way, so he had to try and protect you, whether you liked it or not.
I heard you guys were fighting with that blockhead emperor at the time, too. It was from getting caught up in that guy’s schemes that I ended up broken, so Sena might’ve projected that onto you.
Makoto: ……
Leo: But everything’s alright now! Don’t worry, I won’t let Sena do anything so stupid ever again!
I’m back at last. I’ll fill in all the parts he’s missing, now that he’s become a damaged blade all covered in scratches!
I’ll pay him back for how much he took care of me. At least this time, I’ll make sure to throw all my efforts in for his sake.
I’m sure he’ll calm down right away and stop acting out.
How’s that? Aren’t you happy? It’s great, isn’t it! A big weight off the shoulders, huh! Sorry for all of that, you did really well!
But y’know, it’s fine now. You don’t have to be my substitute anymore.
Makoto: Substitute…?
Leo: I mean, the real deal came back, right? There’s no longer any need for a substitute!
All his love and all his spite, all his light and all his darkness… I’ll take it all in, just like I did before!
That’s why I came back! So don’t worry now, okay, “Yuu-kun”?
Makoto: Don’t… worry…?
Leo: Yup. With the flesh-and-blood human, the real target of his love here now, he won’t need a plushie anymore.
Really, thank you for everything, “Yuu-kun”. You helped my Sena hold out just as he was on the brink of collapse.
I’m grateful. Thanks to you, he’s still the same old Sena I love. He’s changed in a few ways, but he never fell apart.
For real, I’m glad… I’m so glad you were here for him♪
Makoto: ……
Leo: …Whoops, sorry, it feels kinda like I’m getting off-topic - I have to help solve your troubles right now, right. So, in short, it’s important to keep that “Trickstar-ness” about you guys.
The reason your revolution succeeded was because everyone supported you. Why do you think they did that?
Is it because you served them like slaves, feeding them cheap flattery?
No, right? At least, I don’t think so. I wasn’t at school at the time so I don’t really know, but...
You guys did something that everyone secretly wished they could, somewhere in their hearts.
You were their dreams, their very hopes and wishes. You were their ideal. You were this story’s protagonists, the ones they supported and entrusted their feelings to.
And now, you’re not. That’s why you’re not doing so well, I think.
Well, in the end this is all my personal opinion! I can’t say it’s perfectly correct, since in the end it all boils down to you guys, so you can all think on your own!
Trickstar and Knights are rivals, right? Don’t ask your enemy for advice!
Makoto: Well, that was pretty blunt… But thank you either way, you’ve helped a lot just hearing me out.
You’re right. I get what you’re saying, and I feel like I have a vague idea of where we can go from here now.
Leo: Oh, really? That’s great! Good luck, Trickstar! I’m cheering you on, too!
Rivals are better when they’re stronger, after all! It’s exactly because we have an opponent like this that we can keep growing so much!
Being only hated and ignored, unable to even fight… that’s just painful, you know?
Though you guys were probably acting that way so people wouldn’t start to hate you and treat you so awfully, right?
Instead of being scared of their hate, try harder for their love! Like I’m one to talk, though, ‘cause I failed at that a long time ago! Wahaha☆
Oh, whoops. Looks like the sun’s almost all the way down, so I’m going home! Sorry, you were probably on your way somewhere… I wound up holding you up, huh?
Makoto: No, it’s okay… I’m sorry too, for talking so long.
Leo: Nah, I’m glad we could talk. I’d been thinking I should apologize to you for what Sena did, after all.
Makoto: ……
Leo: But I knew that no matter what, I’d probably end up taking Sena’s side… and might’ve started blaming you while trying to apologize, so I was kinda scared of meeting you, Yuu-kun.
Wahaha. I’m glad you’re a good, smart kid. It doesn’t seem like it bothers you all that much, so actually, I’m sorry for bringing up the past.
It seems like you’ve already come to an agreement about it, too. Sorry, sorry… Maybe it’s because I was gone for a bit, but it feels like I’m still living in the past.
Makoto: ……
Leo: Well then, I’m off! Bye-bye, Yuu-kun! See ya!
Makoto: Haa… Let’s meet again someday, Tsukinaga-senpai.
……
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< NIGHTMARE Chapter 8 || Masterlist || NIGHTMARE Chapter 10 >
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[School Building: Back]
Makoto: …But then, what should we do instead? The truth of the matter is that we caused trouble for Knights. That guilt’s gonna hang around forever, you know?
We can’t just assume it’s all over and done with just because we apologized… and then go back to running wild and picking fights with other units like we usually do.
Leo: Yeah. The reason you lost your nerve and lost sight of yourselves is ‘cause you keep thinking like that. Well, probably. At least that’s how I see it, looking at it from the outside.
Wahaha. You guys are just like Sena right now.
Makoto: We’re like… Izumi-san…?
Leo: Yup. That Sena, he sure put you through a lot and caused loads of trouble for Trickstar, didn’t he… “Yuu-kun”?
Makoto: (Huh? Did he just call me “Yuu-kun”? I thought Tsukinaga-senpai had no clue who I was…?)
Leo: Ahh, so it really is you. Hmm… It was just a guess, but I nailed it.
You’re completely different from what I’ve heard about you, so I wasn’t sure if it really was you.
Wahaha. It seems our Sena’s been a real pain for you, huh. Sorry about that. I’ll apologize for him as the leader of Knights.
Makoto: …It’s fine, it doesn’t bother me anymore. We’ve already made our settlements. Maybe you didn’t know about it, though, since you were gone for a while.
Leo: Yeah, I didn’t. Hearing it for the first time took me by surprise. I never thought Sena would do something so awful.
Compared to me, that guy’s tough as steel. But even then, there’s no way he made it out without a scratch.
He was all beat up, yet didn’t even have the luxury of falling apart, and he stuck hard in place by stubbornness alone.
But he couldn’t handle the pain in his heart, so he went and did something stupid.
Sorry, Yuu-kun! Our Sena caused you trouble! I’m pretty sure he abducted and locked you up all because he didn’t want you to fall apart like I did!
He had to watch up close as I got crushed by all the spite around me-- well, as I got backed into a corner and destroyed myself…
He was probably scared you’d end up the same way, so he had to try and protect you, whether you liked it or not.
I heard you guys were fighting with that blockhead emperor at the time, too. It was from getting caught up in that guy’s schemes that I ended up broken, so Sena might’ve projected that onto you.
Makoto: ……
Leo: But everything’s alright now! Don’t worry, I won’t let Sena do anything so stupid ever again!
I’m back at last. I’ll fill in all the parts he’s missing, now that he’s become a damaged blade all covered in scratches!
I’ll pay him back for how much he took care of me. At least this time, I’ll make sure to throw all my efforts in for his sake.
I’m sure he’ll calm down right away and stop acting out.
How’s that? Aren’t you happy? It’s great, isn’t it! A big weight off the shoulders, huh! Sorry for all of that, you did really well!
But y’know, it’s fine now. You don’t have to be my substitute anymore.
Makoto: Substitute…?
Leo: I mean, the real deal came back, right? There’s no longer any need for a substitute!
All his love and all his spite, all his light and all his darkness… I’ll take it all in, just like I did before!
That’s why I came back! So don’t worry now, okay, “Yuu-kun”?
Makoto: Don’t… worry…?
Leo: Yup. With the flesh-and-blood human, the real target of his love here now, he won’t need a plushie anymore.
Really, thank you for everything, “Yuu-kun”. You helped my Sena hold out just as he was on the brink of collapse.
I’m grateful. Thanks to you, he’s still the same old Sena I love. He’s changed in a few ways, but he never fell apart.
For real, I’m glad… I’m so glad you were here for him♪
Makoto: ……
Leo: …Whoops, sorry, it feels kinda like I’m getting off-topic - I have to help solve your troubles right now, right. So, in short, it’s important to keep that “Trickstar-ness” about you guys.
The reason your revolution succeeded was because everyone supported you. Why do you think they did that?
Is it because you served them like slaves, feeding them cheap flattery?
No, right? At least, I don’t think so. I wasn’t at school at the time so I don’t really know, but...
You guys did something that everyone secretly wished they could, somewhere in their hearts.
You were their dreams, their very hopes and wishes. You were their ideal. You were this story’s protagonists, the ones they supported and entrusted their feelings to.
And now, you’re not. That’s why you’re not doing so well, I think.
Well, in the end this is all my personal opinion! I can’t say it’s perfectly correct, since in the end it all boils down to you guys, so you can all think on your own!
Trickstar and Knights are rivals, right? Don’t ask your enemy for advice!
Makoto: Well, that was pretty blunt… But thank you either way, you’ve helped a lot just hearing me out.
You’re right. I get what you’re saying, and I feel like I have a vague idea of where we can go from here now.
Leo: Oh, really? That’s great! Good luck, Trickstar! I’m cheering you on, too!
Rivals are better when they’re stronger, after all! It’s exactly because we have an opponent like this that we can keep growing so much!
Being only hated and ignored, unable to even fight… that’s just painful, you know?
Though you guys were probably acting that way so people wouldn’t start to hate you and treat you so awfully, right?
Instead of being scared of their hate, try harder for their love! Like I’m one to talk, though, ‘cause I failed at that a long time ago! Wahaha☆
Oh, whoops. Looks like the sun’s almost all the way down, so I’m going home! Sorry, you were probably on your way somewhere… I wound up holding you up, huh?
Makoto: No, it’s okay… I’m sorry too, for talking so long.
Leo: Nah, I’m glad we could talk. I’d been thinking I should apologize to you for what Sena did, after all.
Makoto: ……
Leo: But I knew that no matter what, I’d probably end up taking Sena’s side… and might’ve started blaming you while trying to apologize, so I was kinda scared of meeting you, Yuu-kun.
Wahaha. I’m glad you’re a good, smart kid. It doesn’t seem like it bothers you all that much, so actually, I’m sorry for bringing up the past.
It seems like you’ve already come to an agreement about it, too. Sorry, sorry… Maybe it’s because I was gone for a bit, but it feels like I’m still living in the past.
Makoto: ……
Leo: Well then, I’m off! Bye-bye, Yuu-kun! See ya!
Makoto: Haa… Let’s meet again someday, Tsukinaga-senpai.
……
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< NIGHTMARE Chapter 8 || Masterlist || NIGHTMARE Chapter 10 >