Next Door - Prologue
Aug. 17th, 2020 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Season: Summer
---
[NewDi Office]
(Mid-September, immediately following Double Face's debut live, "Marble Cast")
Leo: Oba-cha~n! Gimme some work!
Wahaha! ☆ You probably know it already, but for better or worse, that GFK guy who gave me a bunch of work was wiped from the industry— [1]
So my schedule's wide open now! Gimme somethin' I can do solo! And make it fun, please! ♪
Tsumugi: ......
Leo: Waugh! Oba-chan, are you dead?! There's been a murder! Somebody call an ace detective!
Oba-chaaan! Why did you have to die?! If a nice guy like you has to lose his life, this world is pure hell!
What are you doing, God?! Get back on the job!
Tsumugi: Ahaha... I'm not really dead, Tsukinaga-kun~
Leo: Yeah, I know! I have good ears, so I could pick up your pulse and breathing, after all.
If I didn't actually know if you were alive or dead, I wouldn't be making such insensitive jokes! Obviously!
Tsumugi: Fufu. Eichi-kun might, though—make a joke no one knows how to respond to, that is.
Leo: Don't put me with him! He's an emperor and I'm a king—we're different by definition! It's a false equivalence!
Wait, I'm not a king anymore, huh!
It feels like, y'know, I'm still suffering the after-effects of telling myself over and over to think that way! I need to switch mindsets already!
Tsumugi: Oh, I understand. Even though I've already graduated high school, I sometimes wake up and catch myself wondering what the class schedule for the day will be.
Leo: Whoa, I get it! Like when I notice it's almost test season and start panicking 'cause I haven't studied a single thing! ♪
Wait a sec, this isn't the time to start chatting on about old memories!
Are you really okay, Oba-chan? Why were you lying on the floor, anyway? Takin' a nap?
Tsumugi: Come on, even I would sleep on the sofa or drag myself back to the dorms if I was going to nap. It's just a few minutes' walk over there, anyway.
Leo: Really? Aren't you always staying overnight in the office for work? At least that's what my roommate Nacchan said.
Tsumugi: Nacchan?
...Oh, you mean Natsume-kun. Did you always have a nickname for him? Does that mean you've gotten closer while living together?
Leo: No, we're not close! We don't even mesh well! I only thought of "Nacchan" randomly just now!
Tsumugi: Fufu. You really just say whatever comes to mind, huh, Tsukinaga-kun? ♪
Okay, up we go...
Agh, my whole body's all stiff from sleeping on the hard ground.
Leo: Wahaha! Like an old lady—an Oba-chan! The name makes the body! [2]
Tsumugi: You're the only one who calls me that, though... But I don't mind. It's nice having a nickname because it makes us seem close.
Leo: I think so too!
Crap, you almost fell over again! Are you really okay?! Mulder, you are tired! [3]
Tsumugi: Mulder...? Ahh, from The X-Files? Natsume-kun really likes that show, so he recommended it to me and we watched it together.
I really like that assistant director guy, uh— I can't think of his name right now, but...
Leo: Come on, Oba-chan, it's obvious you're all worn out! The signs are all there!
Seriously, are you alright?! Your reactions are a beat too slow, you're unsteady on your feet, and it makes me nervous just lookin' at you!
Tsumugi: Ahaha, I get that a lot. Sorry about that.
Anyway, I think I heard you saying this through my half-daze, but you're looking for work, right, Tsukinaga-kun?
Wait just a moment; I have a file with all that information compiled—
Leo: Beep boop beep! Daiuchuu~!
Tsumugi: Huh? What's that? Some kind of alien language?
Leo: Yep! I learned the correct greeting recently! Though I still use "Ucchu~☆" onstage since it would confuse the fans if it changed all of a sudden. [4]
Ah, hey, is this Nacchan? No no wait, it's me! It's me!
Tsumugi: ? Are you on the phone with Natsume-kun? Why?
Leo: Ahh wait, don't hang up! It's important! Look, your glasses guy isn't looking too hot right now, so come pick him up!
I'd drag him to bed and make him rest myself, but I don't have the arm strength for it! Come help me!
Tsumugi: Ah... It sounds like you're worried about me, but I'm fine, okay?
Leo: I don't believe you when you say you're "fine"!
Somebody could rip your heart right outta your chest and you'd just laugh like, "I'm okay~ Actually, I could live like this!"
Tsumugi: Just what do you think I am, Tsukinaga-kun?
Leo: Whatever! Don't talk anymore! Go get warm and cozy in bed and sleep!
It's been a while since I've said this, but the King's orders are absolute...! I'm not the King anymore, but still!
---
[1] GFK is the nickname given to a shady producer who may have involved Leo in some serious trouble. Given that it contains details about GFK and what happened with Leo, I highly recommend reading A Dark Night's Passing (Double Face's debut event) before reading this one.
[2] "Oba-chan" comes from "Aoba-chan" but is also a way to refer to an older woman in Japanese.
[3] This is (apparently) a recurring line from the famous American TV Show The X-Files. Mulder, the protagonist, is an FBI agent obsessed with paranormal cases; his partner Scully, a scientist and fellow FBI agent, often says this to him as an expression of her disbelief in his theories about the supernatural. It also happens to be a meme in Japanese.
[4] Both here and in his first idol story, Leo implies that he recently met up with the person who originally taught him how to greet aliens. This is possibly Ruri Amamiya from Ensemble Girls, whose catchphrase is in fact "Daiuchuu".
---
Masterlist || Closed Circle Chapter 1 >
---
[NewDi Office]
(Mid-September, immediately following Double Face's debut live, "Marble Cast")
Leo: Oba-cha~n! Gimme some work!
Wahaha! ☆ You probably know it already, but for better or worse, that GFK guy who gave me a bunch of work was wiped from the industry— [1]
So my schedule's wide open now! Gimme somethin' I can do solo! And make it fun, please! ♪
Tsumugi: ......
Leo: Waugh! Oba-chan, are you dead?! There's been a murder! Somebody call an ace detective!
Oba-chaaan! Why did you have to die?! If a nice guy like you has to lose his life, this world is pure hell!
What are you doing, God?! Get back on the job!
Tsumugi: Ahaha... I'm not really dead, Tsukinaga-kun~
Leo: Yeah, I know! I have good ears, so I could pick up your pulse and breathing, after all.
If I didn't actually know if you were alive or dead, I wouldn't be making such insensitive jokes! Obviously!
Tsumugi: Fufu. Eichi-kun might, though—make a joke no one knows how to respond to, that is.
Leo: Don't put me with him! He's an emperor and I'm a king—we're different by definition! It's a false equivalence!
Wait, I'm not a king anymore, huh!
It feels like, y'know, I'm still suffering the after-effects of telling myself over and over to think that way! I need to switch mindsets already!
Tsumugi: Oh, I understand. Even though I've already graduated high school, I sometimes wake up and catch myself wondering what the class schedule for the day will be.
Leo: Whoa, I get it! Like when I notice it's almost test season and start panicking 'cause I haven't studied a single thing! ♪
Wait a sec, this isn't the time to start chatting on about old memories!
Are you really okay, Oba-chan? Why were you lying on the floor, anyway? Takin' a nap?
Tsumugi: Come on, even I would sleep on the sofa or drag myself back to the dorms if I was going to nap. It's just a few minutes' walk over there, anyway.
Leo: Really? Aren't you always staying overnight in the office for work? At least that's what my roommate Nacchan said.
Tsumugi: Nacchan?
...Oh, you mean Natsume-kun. Did you always have a nickname for him? Does that mean you've gotten closer while living together?
Leo: No, we're not close! We don't even mesh well! I only thought of "Nacchan" randomly just now!
Tsumugi: Fufu. You really just say whatever comes to mind, huh, Tsukinaga-kun? ♪
Okay, up we go...
Agh, my whole body's all stiff from sleeping on the hard ground.
Leo: Wahaha! Like an old lady—an Oba-chan! The name makes the body! [2]
Tsumugi: You're the only one who calls me that, though... But I don't mind. It's nice having a nickname because it makes us seem close.
Leo: I think so too!
Crap, you almost fell over again! Are you really okay?! Mulder, you are tired! [3]
Tsumugi: Mulder...? Ahh, from The X-Files? Natsume-kun really likes that show, so he recommended it to me and we watched it together.
I really like that assistant director guy, uh— I can't think of his name right now, but...
Leo: Come on, Oba-chan, it's obvious you're all worn out! The signs are all there!
Seriously, are you alright?! Your reactions are a beat too slow, you're unsteady on your feet, and it makes me nervous just lookin' at you!
Tsumugi: Ahaha, I get that a lot. Sorry about that.
Anyway, I think I heard you saying this through my half-daze, but you're looking for work, right, Tsukinaga-kun?
Wait just a moment; I have a file with all that information compiled—
Leo: Beep boop beep! Daiuchuu~!
Tsumugi: Huh? What's that? Some kind of alien language?
Leo: Yep! I learned the correct greeting recently! Though I still use "Ucchu~☆" onstage since it would confuse the fans if it changed all of a sudden. [4]
Ah, hey, is this Nacchan? No no wait, it's me! It's me!
Tsumugi: ? Are you on the phone with Natsume-kun? Why?
Leo: Ahh wait, don't hang up! It's important! Look, your glasses guy isn't looking too hot right now, so come pick him up!
I'd drag him to bed and make him rest myself, but I don't have the arm strength for it! Come help me!
Tsumugi: Ah... It sounds like you're worried about me, but I'm fine, okay?
Leo: I don't believe you when you say you're "fine"!
Somebody could rip your heart right outta your chest and you'd just laugh like, "I'm okay~ Actually, I could live like this!"
Tsumugi: Just what do you think I am, Tsukinaga-kun?
Leo: Whatever! Don't talk anymore! Go get warm and cozy in bed and sleep!
It's been a while since I've said this, but the King's orders are absolute...! I'm not the King anymore, but still!
---
[1] GFK is the nickname given to a shady producer who may have involved Leo in some serious trouble. Given that it contains details about GFK and what happened with Leo, I highly recommend reading A Dark Night's Passing (Double Face's debut event) before reading this one.
[2] "Oba-chan" comes from "Aoba-chan" but is also a way to refer to an older woman in Japanese.
[3] This is (apparently) a recurring line from the famous American TV Show The X-Files. Mulder, the protagonist, is an FBI agent obsessed with paranormal cases; his partner Scully, a scientist and fellow FBI agent, often says this to him as an expression of her disbelief in his theories about the supernatural. It also happens to be a meme in Japanese.
[4] Both here and in his first idol story, Leo implies that he recently met up with the person who originally taught him how to greet aliens. This is possibly Ruri Amamiya from Ensemble Girls, whose catchphrase is in fact "Daiuchuu".
---
Masterlist || Closed Circle Chapter 1 >