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shivalriesSeason: Autumn
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[ES Lobby - Evening]
(A few days later)
Ritsu: (Ugh, damn it... Feels like I've really done it now.)
(It's been a few days, yet my heart's been hammering this whole time, and the weird fire in my body won't leave. I'm so embarrassed... I really did something I thought I'd never do.)
(And then the shame just hits me when I least expect it, even right before bed. I haven't been sleeping well lately thanks to that.)
(My head's so foggy that I can barely tell if this place is real or a dream anymore.)
(Well I guess it helped me flip my days and nights back around so I can stay awake in the daytime again. My rhythm's been seriously thrown off, though—it's gotta be tough on my body.)
(But... because I'm now awake in the daytime where everyone else leads their lives, I can do things I wouldn't normally be able to.)
(By getting in contact with Anzu and Ecchan, I could help clear up the annoying problem that's been holding us back all this time, at least to some extent.)
(Well, it's more like I was able to just throw all the extra stuff at those two so Knights can finally get back to focusing on our own problems.)
(Anzu agreed to mobilize the Producer Course to take over the management and training of our growing horde of newbies.)
(Kinda feels like we should've done that in the first place...)
(Now all we have to do is receive regular reports, make some decisions, then pass the message to the Producer Course via Anzu. Our burden just got a whole lot lighter.)
(Of course, if a more serious problem arises, then we'll have to make a personal appearance. But it should be fine for now.)
(I mean, Ecchan's helping out with the whole thing, and he's way too used to management, politics, and all that other non-idol stuff.)
(Besides, it seems like Ecchan didn't take it very well when he heard that Ryuseitai went and split up while he was still in the hospital...)
(I expect he'll deal with everybody, the newbies in Ryuseitai included.)
(And by "deal with"... I mean he'll provide a way forward so that all of them will be able to shine as idols. I trust him on that, at least. If he betrays me, he's dead.)
(Of course, he wouldn't go through all that trouble for free.)
(Ryuseitai aside, Knights is from a whole other agency—it'd look like he's abusing his power.)
(Even if it's technically alright for Anzu and the Producer Course since it's their job, it'd still look bad.)
(Actually, since the Producer Course students don't seem like they get enough practical experience, giving them the chance to manage the Ryuseitai and Knights recruits would be a win-win situation.)
(It's the kind of experience you can't ever get just by sitting at a desk and hitting the books.)
(That was the original pretense—or, the ideal behind Yumenosaki's DreamFes when it was first implemented, after all.)
(Anyway, what Ecchan wants in return is to be able to interfere with school affairs.)
(He wants to take over a part of Knights, which holds great power within the school right now, and bring it under the student council's control.)
(By doing so, he can restore a little power to the student council, since oddly enough, they haven't had much of a presence these days.)
(I'm sure Ma~kun doesn't really need power, but Ecchan's favorite kid is there.)
(At the same time, it seems like Ecchan wants to interfere with the influence of our co-conquerors Switch—or rather, of the Eccentrics.)
(It's like angels and demons are working in the shadows, using us as their pawns in their experiments and making us fight their battles.)
(To the people who don't know anything, it probably looks like the discord at school is finally drawing to a close.)
(But I'm wondering if we've actually only entered a short intermission before the next "chess match"... Peace is just a momentary breather sandwiched between two conflicts.)
(Still, it's nice to have that peace even for a moment.)
(On the surface, it looks like we've achieved a great victory, so I have no complaints. Once the situation at school stabilizes, we can take time for ourselves.)
(Heh. And just when we were finally about to get some peace and free time—)
(The moment we're left to our own devices, we start throwing punches at each other. It's so stupid... Talk about bloodlust.)
(But I guess that's Knights for you, huh. Conflict is what made us stronger.)
(Once an age of peace begins, we lose our place and grow weaker and weaker, just like the real knights of history.)
(...Even then, though, it's kinda lonely... or more like, unfortunate.)
Tsukasa: ......
Ritsu: (Hm~...? Someone's inside that cafe... Is that Su~chan?)
(He's got a mountain of sweets piled up in front of him again... That's not healthy. I guess he wants to get some fructose flowing through his brain to help him think everything over.)
(He's really serious, after all—has been ever since I met him.)
(But for a kid who's been doing his very best all this time, I feel sorry that his only reward is getting shut down over and over. I don't really want that for him, either.)
(Maybe I should talk to him and help him clear his head...)
(Su~chan probably finds it hard to understand why Secchan and Nacchan were so anxious, anyway.)
(If he thinks about it, understands, and accepts it, then he'll be indestructible—a sword that never breaks.)
(Okay, I'll go in. Right now, it seems like Tsukipi~'s on Su~chan's side, while Nacchan's backing up Secchan...)
(It's two-versus-two, so I'm not sure I should be supporting either side...)
(It'd throw off the power balance. Still, Su~chan's the youngest of our group...)
(The rest of us have all grown strong from acting like big siblings meddling in our baby brother's business.)
(Because we have someone to protect, we're able to be at our most knightly... something like that.)
Leo: ~...♪
Ritsu: (Hm? Wait, there's someone crawling on the cafe floor. Is that Tsukipi~? Judging from his expression, he's probably thinking the same thing as me.)
(Alright, maybe I'll leave it to Tsukipi~, then. He got there first, and besides, some things can probably only be understood between kings.)
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< Another Sleepless Night Chapter 7 || Masterlist || Until the Morning Light Chapter 2 >
---
[ES Lobby - Evening]
(A few days later)
Ritsu: (Ugh, damn it... Feels like I've really done it now.)
(It's been a few days, yet my heart's been hammering this whole time, and the weird fire in my body won't leave. I'm so embarrassed... I really did something I thought I'd never do.)
(And then the shame just hits me when I least expect it, even right before bed. I haven't been sleeping well lately thanks to that.)
(My head's so foggy that I can barely tell if this place is real or a dream anymore.)
(Well I guess it helped me flip my days and nights back around so I can stay awake in the daytime again. My rhythm's been seriously thrown off, though—it's gotta be tough on my body.)
(But... because I'm now awake in the daytime where everyone else leads their lives, I can do things I wouldn't normally be able to.)
(By getting in contact with Anzu and Ecchan, I could help clear up the annoying problem that's been holding us back all this time, at least to some extent.)
(Well, it's more like I was able to just throw all the extra stuff at those two so Knights can finally get back to focusing on our own problems.)
(Anzu agreed to mobilize the Producer Course to take over the management and training of our growing horde of newbies.)
(Kinda feels like we should've done that in the first place...)
(Now all we have to do is receive regular reports, make some decisions, then pass the message to the Producer Course via Anzu. Our burden just got a whole lot lighter.)
(Of course, if a more serious problem arises, then we'll have to make a personal appearance. But it should be fine for now.)
(I mean, Ecchan's helping out with the whole thing, and he's way too used to management, politics, and all that other non-idol stuff.)
(Besides, it seems like Ecchan didn't take it very well when he heard that Ryuseitai went and split up while he was still in the hospital...)
(I expect he'll deal with everybody, the newbies in Ryuseitai included.)
(And by "deal with"... I mean he'll provide a way forward so that all of them will be able to shine as idols. I trust him on that, at least. If he betrays me, he's dead.)
(Of course, he wouldn't go through all that trouble for free.)
(Ryuseitai aside, Knights is from a whole other agency—it'd look like he's abusing his power.)
(Even if it's technically alright for Anzu and the Producer Course since it's their job, it'd still look bad.)
(Actually, since the Producer Course students don't seem like they get enough practical experience, giving them the chance to manage the Ryuseitai and Knights recruits would be a win-win situation.)
(It's the kind of experience you can't ever get just by sitting at a desk and hitting the books.)
(That was the original pretense—or, the ideal behind Yumenosaki's DreamFes when it was first implemented, after all.)
(Anyway, what Ecchan wants in return is to be able to interfere with school affairs.)
(He wants to take over a part of Knights, which holds great power within the school right now, and bring it under the student council's control.)
(By doing so, he can restore a little power to the student council, since oddly enough, they haven't had much of a presence these days.)
(I'm sure Ma~kun doesn't really need power, but Ecchan's favorite kid is there.)
(At the same time, it seems like Ecchan wants to interfere with the influence of our co-conquerors Switch—or rather, of the Eccentrics.)
(It's like angels and demons are working in the shadows, using us as their pawns in their experiments and making us fight their battles.)
(To the people who don't know anything, it probably looks like the discord at school is finally drawing to a close.)
(But I'm wondering if we've actually only entered a short intermission before the next "chess match"... Peace is just a momentary breather sandwiched between two conflicts.)
(Still, it's nice to have that peace even for a moment.)
(On the surface, it looks like we've achieved a great victory, so I have no complaints. Once the situation at school stabilizes, we can take time for ourselves.)
(Heh. And just when we were finally about to get some peace and free time—)
(The moment we're left to our own devices, we start throwing punches at each other. It's so stupid... Talk about bloodlust.)
(But I guess that's Knights for you, huh. Conflict is what made us stronger.)
(Once an age of peace begins, we lose our place and grow weaker and weaker, just like the real knights of history.)
(...Even then, though, it's kinda lonely... or more like, unfortunate.)
Tsukasa: ......
Ritsu: (Hm~...? Someone's inside that cafe... Is that Su~chan?)
(He's got a mountain of sweets piled up in front of him again... That's not healthy. I guess he wants to get some fructose flowing through his brain to help him think everything over.)
(He's really serious, after all—has been ever since I met him.)
(But for a kid who's been doing his very best all this time, I feel sorry that his only reward is getting shut down over and over. I don't really want that for him, either.)
(Maybe I should talk to him and help him clear his head...)
(Su~chan probably finds it hard to understand why Secchan and Nacchan were so anxious, anyway.)
(If he thinks about it, understands, and accepts it, then he'll be indestructible—a sword that never breaks.)
(Okay, I'll go in. Right now, it seems like Tsukipi~'s on Su~chan's side, while Nacchan's backing up Secchan...)
(It's two-versus-two, so I'm not sure I should be supporting either side...)
(It'd throw off the power balance. Still, Su~chan's the youngest of our group...)
(The rest of us have all grown strong from acting like big siblings meddling in our baby brother's business.)
(Because we have someone to protect, we're able to be at our most knightly... something like that.)
Leo: ~...♪
Ritsu: (Hm? Wait, there's someone crawling on the cafe floor. Is that Tsukipi~? Judging from his expression, he's probably thinking the same thing as me.)
(Alright, maybe I'll leave it to Tsukipi~, then. He got there first, and besides, some things can probably only be understood between kings.)
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< Another Sleepless Night Chapter 7 || Masterlist || Until the Morning Light Chapter 2 >
