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shivalriesSeason: Autumn
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[Studio]
Tsukasa: W-Why—
What is the meaning of this, Narukami-senpai? Are you saying that you... disagree with my suggestion?
Arashi: Uh? You made it sound more like an order than a suggestion, though.
Tsukasa: S-So you cannot follow my orders?
Arashi: See, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about... You might be our King, Tsukasa-chan, but we're all supposed to be equals here, right?
Knights who are of the same rank are allowed to act freely.
The reason I always listened to you is because I like you and Knights.
Well, maybe not exactly—I might've just been trying to be polite.
Instead of putting ourselves in some hierarchy, Knights was always supposed to be able to sit together at our round table and share opinions on equal ground.
Tsukasa: ...It might've felt that way for my seniors, but...
Arashi: At the very least, I really liked that about us. That's all—just my personal preference.
This absolutely doesn't mean that I like Izumi-chan more than you or anything.
Izumi: Yeah... I'm not surprised. I'd be confused if you ever did say you liked me more.
Arashi: Ufufu. You like being the pursuer, but you're not at all used to being pursued, are you—Izumi-chan? ♪
It's comforting when you perfectly understand your own feelings, but there's no way to tell what other people are thinking.
Your feelings shouldn't be decided by anyone else but yourself, anyway.
Either way, I don't want my feelings to be misunderstood, so I'll lay it all out for you.
I want you all to fully understand why I said what I just said, after all.
Tsukasa-chan's suggestion was to keep the status quo.
This means continuing what we've been doing since spring: follow Tsukasa-chan's vision and prioritize securing our command over Yumenosaki.
And also sometimes listen to the agency's requests and perform onstage for ES.
Tsukasa: Right. Since there aren't many powerhouse units in our agency aside from us, we are most often the ones called into battle.
We were incredibly busy being pulled in two different directions.
Arashi: Yeah, it feels like we're more mercenaries than knights. As we busy ourselves laying waste to Yumenosaki's dominion, we occasionally stick our heads into the war at ES and run riot.
Tsukasa: I-I'm not certain that's the best phrasing...
Arashi: That's how it could look to some people. And judging from your reaction, you probably thought of it that way, too, right?
Tsukasa: ......
Arashi: Bring order to the school, and this will benefit the agency, too—if you put it like that, then yeah, it sounds good.
But what we're actually doing is holding back the kids who have their own hopes and dreams at Yumenosaki.
And then, we soak them in our colors by bringing them under our rule.
Tsukasa: But that should come with rewards as well.
Those who are under Knights' umbrella can use our powerful brand to their advantage.
That should greatly expedite their future endeavors.
Lately, everyone has been so focused on ES that Yumenosaki has been neglected, so the new members in particular have been struggling so much.
And to those new members, we are offering a way forward. Is this not a noble, meaningful act?
Arashi: It is. But now it's even more apparent how much you gauge everything by your own standards, Tsukasa-chan.
If it were you, we'd just have to remove some obstacles and lay out a simple path for you, and you'd just charge right ahead to your destination, never stopping and never giving up.
But that's not how things usually are. It's out of love that parents nag their children about this and that, but generally, people find that pretty annoying.
This is the same thing. Nobody asked us to do this for them—it's just meddling.
At the moment, allying with us might seem like the profitable and "correct" choice, especially at school.
That's because people can reap the benefits from us.
But what happens when that's no longer the case?
What if Knights' brand loses its brilliance, and it actually would harm someone's reputation to be associated with us?
Tsukasa: Th-That wouldn't—
Arashi: That wouldn't happen? Well, you can't say that for sure.
You've only known Knights from when were at rock bottom and grew so fast we were soon at the top...
It probably never even occurred to you that we could lose popularity instead of gain it.
Not everyone's a good person, after all, and we're nowhere near achieving world peace. You have to keep the worst case scenario in mind, always.
Tsukasa: ...Well. I'm not very fond of such negative thinking, but if you believe it's the best choice, Narukami-senpai, then I shall.
You and all my seniors have steered me in the right direction since the beginning.
Arashi: I've just avoided failure, is all. I've always pushed all the heavy burdens onto other people and secured a safe place just for myself.
Tsukasa: ...As I said, I just don't think that sounds right. Why must everyone paint themselves in such a terrible light?
Arashi: I'm an old knight, too, from the age when Leo-kun used to do that kind of thing over and over.
I'd hoped you'd show me a new way to live, but...
Tsukasa: ......
---
< Another Sleepless Night Chapter 4 || Masterlist || Another Sleepless Night Chapter 6 >
---
[Studio]
Tsukasa: W-Why—
What is the meaning of this, Narukami-senpai? Are you saying that you... disagree with my suggestion?
Arashi: Uh? You made it sound more like an order than a suggestion, though.
Tsukasa: S-So you cannot follow my orders?
Arashi: See, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about... You might be our King, Tsukasa-chan, but we're all supposed to be equals here, right?
Knights who are of the same rank are allowed to act freely.
The reason I always listened to you is because I like you and Knights.
Well, maybe not exactly—I might've just been trying to be polite.
Instead of putting ourselves in some hierarchy, Knights was always supposed to be able to sit together at our round table and share opinions on equal ground.
Tsukasa: ...It might've felt that way for my seniors, but...
Arashi: At the very least, I really liked that about us. That's all—just my personal preference.
This absolutely doesn't mean that I like Izumi-chan more than you or anything.
Izumi: Yeah... I'm not surprised. I'd be confused if you ever did say you liked me more.
Arashi: Ufufu. You like being the pursuer, but you're not at all used to being pursued, are you—Izumi-chan? ♪
It's comforting when you perfectly understand your own feelings, but there's no way to tell what other people are thinking.
Your feelings shouldn't be decided by anyone else but yourself, anyway.
Either way, I don't want my feelings to be misunderstood, so I'll lay it all out for you.
I want you all to fully understand why I said what I just said, after all.
Tsukasa-chan's suggestion was to keep the status quo.
This means continuing what we've been doing since spring: follow Tsukasa-chan's vision and prioritize securing our command over Yumenosaki.
And also sometimes listen to the agency's requests and perform onstage for ES.
Tsukasa: Right. Since there aren't many powerhouse units in our agency aside from us, we are most often the ones called into battle.
We were incredibly busy being pulled in two different directions.
Arashi: Yeah, it feels like we're more mercenaries than knights. As we busy ourselves laying waste to Yumenosaki's dominion, we occasionally stick our heads into the war at ES and run riot.
Tsukasa: I-I'm not certain that's the best phrasing...
Arashi: That's how it could look to some people. And judging from your reaction, you probably thought of it that way, too, right?
Tsukasa: ......
Arashi: Bring order to the school, and this will benefit the agency, too—if you put it like that, then yeah, it sounds good.
But what we're actually doing is holding back the kids who have their own hopes and dreams at Yumenosaki.
And then, we soak them in our colors by bringing them under our rule.
Tsukasa: But that should come with rewards as well.
Those who are under Knights' umbrella can use our powerful brand to their advantage.
That should greatly expedite their future endeavors.
Lately, everyone has been so focused on ES that Yumenosaki has been neglected, so the new members in particular have been struggling so much.
And to those new members, we are offering a way forward. Is this not a noble, meaningful act?
Arashi: It is. But now it's even more apparent how much you gauge everything by your own standards, Tsukasa-chan.
If it were you, we'd just have to remove some obstacles and lay out a simple path for you, and you'd just charge right ahead to your destination, never stopping and never giving up.
But that's not how things usually are. It's out of love that parents nag their children about this and that, but generally, people find that pretty annoying.
This is the same thing. Nobody asked us to do this for them—it's just meddling.
At the moment, allying with us might seem like the profitable and "correct" choice, especially at school.
That's because people can reap the benefits from us.
But what happens when that's no longer the case?
What if Knights' brand loses its brilliance, and it actually would harm someone's reputation to be associated with us?
Tsukasa: Th-That wouldn't—
Arashi: That wouldn't happen? Well, you can't say that for sure.
You've only known Knights from when were at rock bottom and grew so fast we were soon at the top...
It probably never even occurred to you that we could lose popularity instead of gain it.
Not everyone's a good person, after all, and we're nowhere near achieving world peace. You have to keep the worst case scenario in mind, always.
Tsukasa: ...Well. I'm not very fond of such negative thinking, but if you believe it's the best choice, Narukami-senpai, then I shall.
You and all my seniors have steered me in the right direction since the beginning.
Arashi: I've just avoided failure, is all. I've always pushed all the heavy burdens onto other people and secured a safe place just for myself.
Tsukasa: ...As I said, I just don't think that sounds right. Why must everyone paint themselves in such a terrible light?
Arashi: I'm an old knight, too, from the age when Leo-kun used to do that kind of thing over and over.
I'd hoped you'd show me a new way to live, but...
Tsukasa: ......
---
< Another Sleepless Night Chapter 4 || Masterlist || Another Sleepless Night Chapter 6 >
