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shivalriesSeason: Autumn
---
[Dorm - Common Room]
Izumi: ...Thanks, Naru-kun.
Arashi: Mm? For what?
Izumi: For stopping me before I ruined something dear to me again.
Arashi: But I didn't stop you, I agreed with you and made things more complicated.
Izumi: No, see, I'm difficult; if someone agrees with me, it'll just make me want to rebel.
Looking at you felt like looking in a mirror—I finally understood just how much of a jerk I was being.
Arashi: ......
Izumi: So it's thanks to you that I stopped. If it was just me charging forward alone like always, I might've gone so far I couldn't take things back.
I need to thank Kuma-kun later, too, even though it's kinda annoying.
I wasn't exactly calm back at that meeting, anyway... It might've gone to shit without you two there.
Arashi: Ooo, so you're saying there was a point when you actually were calm?
Izumi: Don't make fun of me. I don't know how many times I've told you that that's a bad habit of yours, Naru-kun.
Arashi: It just kinda gives me the creeps when you're talking about serious things, Izumi-chan. Ritsu-chan probably feels the same.
Probably the only person who can face you head-on without feeling embarrassed about it is Leo-kun.
And maybe Tsukasa-chan, too. Neither of them is willing to go along with our foolish little charades.
Izumi: True, true. That's why I think Kasa-kun's more like Leo-kun's kid. I mean, he's inherited something really important from Leo-kun already:
The qualities that make someone a King.
Arashi: I suppose that's why you're so worried. Leo-kun broke once, so it's possible Tsukasa-chan might make the same mistake.
Izumi: Yeah, I guess... Lately, bad memories keep flitting through my mind.
That's why you guys were so weirdly anxious this time too, right? Even though you're so laid-back about everything else.
Arashi: Yeah. There's more to it in my case, but... I keep feeling like Knights has recently been headed in a similar direction to the past.
As in, back when I wasn't part of Knights—no, back when it wasn't even "Knights" at all.
Izumi: Mhm. Two years ago, Knights grew out of Chess, one of the most powerful units in Yumenosaki at the time...
Or more like we separated and became independent. We're just a bunch of lawless rebels with no history or prestige to our name.
Like, if Kasa-kun heard why Knights is named Knights, he'd probably be really disappointed.
Arashi: Oh my, have you not given him the details yet?
Izumi: It's not like I've told him nothing about the past, but I did end up leaving out a few details here and there in my summary... I'm sure you and Kuma-kun did the same.
Arashi: Yeah... In front of Tsukasa-chan, we all wanna be the "respectable seniors" to him and only show him our good sides...
Even though we're pretty much disappointing him on the daily, anyway.
Izumi: Yeah, I feel like there's no point pretending to be cool at this stage.
Kasa-kun might take after me and complain all the time, but he still looks at us with eyes sparkling with admiration.
Deep down, he just genuinely thinks way too highly of us.
I wouldn't want him to know about our pitiful past selves.
I've always wanted him to think of us as his powerful seniors who can get serious when it counts and make victory certain.
Arashi: Yeah... We don't wanna let go of our facades, and that's exactly why we sometimes don't see eye-to-eye with Tsukasa-chan.
Izumi: Right. But we've never been as amazing as that kid believes we are.
Arashi: It was really bad back in Chess, huh. I was more like a wandering mercenary you picked up along the way, so I'll try to lay out the outsider's perspective here.
Everyone thought you could reap the benefits of Chess just by joining it, but in truth the whole unit was rotten from the inside.
I mean, if you don't have to work for the reliable brand name, of course everyone would get lazy. Though I suppose that was how Yumenosaki students used to be in general.
Izumi: The atmosphere back then was a perfect fit with the way Chess worked.
Whatever's mainstream in a certain time period will always be a blatant reflection of the people who live in it.
Arashi: True... If you can get a perfect read on the general sentiments of the times, you'll meet success in any field you go into.
Izumi: Yep, that's why Leo-kun sells so well. He can sense everyone's feelings and desires and make music that matches up with those perfectly.
Though during the conflict, those senses of his were bugging out for some reason.
Arashi: Aren't you the cause of that?
Izumi: Huh...? Leo-kun always said it was my fault, and I think so too.
But the reason he up and shattered to pieces was because of Tenshouin and the others who stirred up a war.
...Of course a little kid would go crazy if you gave him a weapon and made him fight just because he’s strong.
---
< Until the Morning Light Chapter 4 || Masterlist || Until the Morning Light Chapter 6 >
---
[Dorm - Common Room]
Izumi: ...Thanks, Naru-kun.
Arashi: Mm? For what?
Izumi: For stopping me before I ruined something dear to me again.
Arashi: But I didn't stop you, I agreed with you and made things more complicated.
Izumi: No, see, I'm difficult; if someone agrees with me, it'll just make me want to rebel.
Looking at you felt like looking in a mirror—I finally understood just how much of a jerk I was being.
Arashi: ......
Izumi: So it's thanks to you that I stopped. If it was just me charging forward alone like always, I might've gone so far I couldn't take things back.
I need to thank Kuma-kun later, too, even though it's kinda annoying.
I wasn't exactly calm back at that meeting, anyway... It might've gone to shit without you two there.
Arashi: Ooo, so you're saying there was a point when you actually were calm?
Izumi: Don't make fun of me. I don't know how many times I've told you that that's a bad habit of yours, Naru-kun.
Arashi: It just kinda gives me the creeps when you're talking about serious things, Izumi-chan. Ritsu-chan probably feels the same.
Probably the only person who can face you head-on without feeling embarrassed about it is Leo-kun.
And maybe Tsukasa-chan, too. Neither of them is willing to go along with our foolish little charades.
Izumi: True, true. That's why I think Kasa-kun's more like Leo-kun's kid. I mean, he's inherited something really important from Leo-kun already:
The qualities that make someone a King.
Arashi: I suppose that's why you're so worried. Leo-kun broke once, so it's possible Tsukasa-chan might make the same mistake.
Izumi: Yeah, I guess... Lately, bad memories keep flitting through my mind.
That's why you guys were so weirdly anxious this time too, right? Even though you're so laid-back about everything else.
Arashi: Yeah. There's more to it in my case, but... I keep feeling like Knights has recently been headed in a similar direction to the past.
As in, back when I wasn't part of Knights—no, back when it wasn't even "Knights" at all.
Izumi: Mhm. Two years ago, Knights grew out of Chess, one of the most powerful units in Yumenosaki at the time...
Or more like we separated and became independent. We're just a bunch of lawless rebels with no history or prestige to our name.
Like, if Kasa-kun heard why Knights is named Knights, he'd probably be really disappointed.
Arashi: Oh my, have you not given him the details yet?
Izumi: It's not like I've told him nothing about the past, but I did end up leaving out a few details here and there in my summary... I'm sure you and Kuma-kun did the same.
Arashi: Yeah... In front of Tsukasa-chan, we all wanna be the "respectable seniors" to him and only show him our good sides...
Even though we're pretty much disappointing him on the daily, anyway.
Izumi: Yeah, I feel like there's no point pretending to be cool at this stage.
Kasa-kun might take after me and complain all the time, but he still looks at us with eyes sparkling with admiration.
Deep down, he just genuinely thinks way too highly of us.
I wouldn't want him to know about our pitiful past selves.
I've always wanted him to think of us as his powerful seniors who can get serious when it counts and make victory certain.
Arashi: Yeah... We don't wanna let go of our facades, and that's exactly why we sometimes don't see eye-to-eye with Tsukasa-chan.
Izumi: Right. But we've never been as amazing as that kid believes we are.
Arashi: It was really bad back in Chess, huh. I was more like a wandering mercenary you picked up along the way, so I'll try to lay out the outsider's perspective here.
Everyone thought you could reap the benefits of Chess just by joining it, but in truth the whole unit was rotten from the inside.
I mean, if you don't have to work for the reliable brand name, of course everyone would get lazy. Though I suppose that was how Yumenosaki students used to be in general.
Izumi: The atmosphere back then was a perfect fit with the way Chess worked.
Whatever's mainstream in a certain time period will always be a blatant reflection of the people who live in it.
Arashi: True... If you can get a perfect read on the general sentiments of the times, you'll meet success in any field you go into.
Izumi: Yep, that's why Leo-kun sells so well. He can sense everyone's feelings and desires and make music that matches up with those perfectly.
Though during the conflict, those senses of his were bugging out for some reason.
Arashi: Aren't you the cause of that?
Izumi: Huh...? Leo-kun always said it was my fault, and I think so too.
But the reason he up and shattered to pieces was because of Tenshouin and the others who stirred up a war.
...Of course a little kid would go crazy if you gave him a weapon and made him fight just because he’s strong.
---
< Until the Morning Light Chapter 4 || Masterlist || Until the Morning Light Chapter 6 >
