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shivalriesSeason: Autumn
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[Halloween Party Stage: Knights]
Izumi: He’s late! Just where is he wandering off to now?
That stupid idiot said something like “I found something interesting!” and went flying off on his own...
He didn’t weasel out of this, did he? For god’s sake, I was the idiot for believing he was actually gonna do things properly today!
Arashi: Alright, calm down… You shouldn’t make such a scary face, Izumi-chan, now matter how much of a Halloween monster you are right now♪
The audience can see you, so try to keep your cool, okay?
Tsukasa: Yes, I agree. There was a message from Oneesama just now, and she said that Ritsu-senpai is heading over here.
Perhaps Leader noticed Ritsu-senpai in the crowd and went to greet him?
Izumi: Hmph. He could’ve just waited for Kuma-kun to meet up with us here. What is he, some restless little kid?
Arashi: Come on, no need to get so annoyed…smile, smile♪
Izumi: Hey, don’t touch my face, okay?! I did my makeup already!
Arashi: Fufu. A long, long time ago, you did the same thing for me when I was nervous, right, Izumi-chan? I’m just returning the favor~♪
Izumi: A long time ago? I don’t recall…? Were you ever the type to get nervous, Naru-kun?
Arashi: Oh my, but it’s such an important memory to me. What a terrible senior you are! It was back when I’d first started modeling.
I’ve always wondered, though - why are you so harsh with me, but so overbearing with Yuuki-kun, even though we’re both your juniors?
This is discrimination, honestly! It’s not fair!
Izumi: …Isn’t it because you were never a younger brother needing protection, but a rival for work?
Arashi: I suppose you’re right. But not even Yuuki-kun’s your little brother, after all. He’s already gotten good enough to be your equal rival, right?
You keep looking for the same relationship you had in the past, but isn’t that just really selfish?
Izumi: …I realize that.
Arashi: No, you don’t. That’s why it’s gotten so bad this time. Why don’t you just grow up and move on already, Izumi-chan?
Halloween is a kids’ holiday, so it’s okay to have as much fun as you like now, but…
After it’s all done, you have to take off your “reliable Oniichan” costume and return to a life befitting your age.
Izumi: ……
Mao: Hey Knights! Sorry for the wait! We still have to fix some of the seams on our costumes before everyone gets onstage, so give us just a few more minutes!
Tsukasa: Oh, Isara-senpai from Trickstar. I haven’t seen any of you around, so I was…not worried, but it did raise some questions.
The first show is a joint live between our units, so if none of you are present, it will make our plans go awry as well.
Please don’t cause trouble for others. Tch, honestly…
Arashi: Ahaha. How embarrassing for you, Mao-chan! Getting scolded by your junior~♪
Mao: Ahaha. Well, Suou-kun's not in the wrong here, so I’ll apologize. Sorry for worrying you all.
Tsukasa: …Sigh. Well, I have no qualms as long as you try to carry out the roles you’ve been given.
Are you alright? You look a bit listless, somehow.
Such a foolish-looking smile… Have you forgotten? This is a serious match between Knights and Trickstar, you know?
If we win, we could even take the things you hold dear away from you!
We could even bring you to ruin…and yet, why?
Mao: Why? I don’t really know how to answer that. Dunno, maybe it’s ‘cause we’re Trickstar?
Tsukasa: That doesn’t answer my question.
Mao: Yep. I suppose to a prim and proper knight, the words of a trickster are just a bunch of gibberish.
Juuust kidding~ We could hardly call ourselves tricksters, with the heavy burden of dreams and expectations on our shoulders now.
We’re not just playing a side role, we’re idols, and “star” is in our name. Of course people would wish upon us - maybe that’s our destiny.
Tsukasa: ? Could you please respond properly to my question, instead of dodging it with all these vague expressions?
Mao: If you sing with us, you won’t even need an explanation. Probably. …Well, I guess that’s not very nice of me, so I’ll be a little more specific.
As you can see, we’ve been going around campus dressed up as agile kitty cats. On the way, we saw and interacted with lots of idols and fans.
Ra*bits, 2wink, Switch, Ryuseitai…among many others.
Everyone was working so hard. They all followed the rules and interacted up close with the guests walking around school.
Within their own stories, each and every idol was shining their brightest. It was incredible, and I really respected them for it. And that’s also when I realized we still have a ways to go, ourselves.
But even then - when everyone saw us, they would call out to us. Maybe they were worried about us after that magazine and seeing our reaction to it.
Then, they cheered us on. We heard “good luck” so, so many times, y’know?
They told us they’d help in any way, reminded us that they’re our allies…even though I know they’re all busy and dealing with their own worries.
They lit a spark for us, gave us a push. That made us really happy. Then, we realized that at some point, we’d forgotten something important.
Tsukasa: …Something important?
Mao: Ahaha. You know, like...we’re not the only ones living in this world.
It’s not like we started bragging everywhere after earning the right to go to SS, but…
We’re in a special position that’s just a little bit different from everyone else’s.
And so we thought we should be acting in some special way too. We drew a line between “us” and “them.”
Since we were always rushing out and about and around the country, we weren’t getting as involved in Yumenosaki’s main activities, so we felt a bit alienated.
I do think we were kind of conceited, too. We thought we were somehow “special” after winning DDD.
Special, like protagonists of a story, and because of that, isolated – we ended up thinking, well, that’s just what happens…
But even subconsciously, it turned out we were the only ones who felt that way.
---
< HARLEQUIN Chapter 6 || Masterlist || HARLEQUIN Chapter 8 >
---
[Halloween Party Stage: Knights]
Izumi: He’s late! Just where is he wandering off to now?
That stupid idiot said something like “I found something interesting!” and went flying off on his own...
He didn’t weasel out of this, did he? For god’s sake, I was the idiot for believing he was actually gonna do things properly today!
Arashi: Alright, calm down… You shouldn’t make such a scary face, Izumi-chan, now matter how much of a Halloween monster you are right now♪
The audience can see you, so try to keep your cool, okay?
Tsukasa: Yes, I agree. There was a message from Oneesama just now, and she said that Ritsu-senpai is heading over here.
Perhaps Leader noticed Ritsu-senpai in the crowd and went to greet him?
Izumi: Hmph. He could’ve just waited for Kuma-kun to meet up with us here. What is he, some restless little kid?
Arashi: Come on, no need to get so annoyed…smile, smile♪
Izumi: Hey, don’t touch my face, okay?! I did my makeup already!
Arashi: Fufu. A long, long time ago, you did the same thing for me when I was nervous, right, Izumi-chan? I’m just returning the favor~♪
Izumi: A long time ago? I don’t recall…? Were you ever the type to get nervous, Naru-kun?
Arashi: Oh my, but it’s such an important memory to me. What a terrible senior you are! It was back when I’d first started modeling.
I’ve always wondered, though - why are you so harsh with me, but so overbearing with Yuuki-kun, even though we’re both your juniors?
This is discrimination, honestly! It’s not fair!
Izumi: …Isn’t it because you were never a younger brother needing protection, but a rival for work?
Arashi: I suppose you’re right. But not even Yuuki-kun’s your little brother, after all. He’s already gotten good enough to be your equal rival, right?
You keep looking for the same relationship you had in the past, but isn’t that just really selfish?
Izumi: …I realize that.
Arashi: No, you don’t. That’s why it’s gotten so bad this time. Why don’t you just grow up and move on already, Izumi-chan?
Halloween is a kids’ holiday, so it’s okay to have as much fun as you like now, but…
After it’s all done, you have to take off your “reliable Oniichan” costume and return to a life befitting your age.
Izumi: ……
Mao: Hey Knights! Sorry for the wait! We still have to fix some of the seams on our costumes before everyone gets onstage, so give us just a few more minutes!
Tsukasa: Oh, Isara-senpai from Trickstar. I haven’t seen any of you around, so I was…not worried, but it did raise some questions.
The first show is a joint live between our units, so if none of you are present, it will make our plans go awry as well.
Please don’t cause trouble for others. Tch, honestly…
Arashi: Ahaha. How embarrassing for you, Mao-chan! Getting scolded by your junior~♪
Mao: Ahaha. Well, Suou-kun's not in the wrong here, so I’ll apologize. Sorry for worrying you all.
Tsukasa: …Sigh. Well, I have no qualms as long as you try to carry out the roles you’ve been given.
Are you alright? You look a bit listless, somehow.
Such a foolish-looking smile… Have you forgotten? This is a serious match between Knights and Trickstar, you know?
If we win, we could even take the things you hold dear away from you!
We could even bring you to ruin…and yet, why?
Mao: Why? I don’t really know how to answer that. Dunno, maybe it’s ‘cause we’re Trickstar?
Tsukasa: That doesn’t answer my question.
Mao: Yep. I suppose to a prim and proper knight, the words of a trickster are just a bunch of gibberish.
Juuust kidding~ We could hardly call ourselves tricksters, with the heavy burden of dreams and expectations on our shoulders now.
We’re not just playing a side role, we’re idols, and “star” is in our name. Of course people would wish upon us - maybe that’s our destiny.
Tsukasa: ? Could you please respond properly to my question, instead of dodging it with all these vague expressions?
Mao: If you sing with us, you won’t even need an explanation. Probably. …Well, I guess that’s not very nice of me, so I’ll be a little more specific.
As you can see, we’ve been going around campus dressed up as agile kitty cats. On the way, we saw and interacted with lots of idols and fans.
Ra*bits, 2wink, Switch, Ryuseitai…among many others.
Everyone was working so hard. They all followed the rules and interacted up close with the guests walking around school.
Within their own stories, each and every idol was shining their brightest. It was incredible, and I really respected them for it. And that’s also when I realized we still have a ways to go, ourselves.
But even then - when everyone saw us, they would call out to us. Maybe they were worried about us after that magazine and seeing our reaction to it.
Then, they cheered us on. We heard “good luck” so, so many times, y’know?
They told us they’d help in any way, reminded us that they’re our allies…even though I know they’re all busy and dealing with their own worries.
They lit a spark for us, gave us a push. That made us really happy. Then, we realized that at some point, we’d forgotten something important.
Tsukasa: …Something important?
Mao: Ahaha. You know, like...we’re not the only ones living in this world.
It’s not like we started bragging everywhere after earning the right to go to SS, but…
We’re in a special position that’s just a little bit different from everyone else’s.
And so we thought we should be acting in some special way too. We drew a line between “us” and “them.”
Since we were always rushing out and about and around the country, we weren’t getting as involved in Yumenosaki’s main activities, so we felt a bit alienated.
I do think we were kind of conceited, too. We thought we were somehow “special” after winning DDD.
Special, like protagonists of a story, and because of that, isolated – we ended up thinking, well, that’s just what happens…
But even subconsciously, it turned out we were the only ones who felt that way.
---
< HARLEQUIN Chapter 6 || Masterlist || HARLEQUIN Chapter 8 >
