Sudden Death - Romanticism Chapter 4
Aug. 5th, 2022 08:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivalriesSeason: Winter
---
Location: Downtown Osaka - Evening
(A couple hours later, in downtown Osaka)
Tsukasa: —Unfortunately, everyone, the worst-case scenario has come to pass.
First of all, we've run out of time with Leo-san and Sena-senpai, and they've had to temporarily withdraw from our ranks.
From today until the final day of the SS qualifiers, they must make their appearance in that event in Europe instead.
It will be difficult for them to return to Japan before the qualifiers end, no matter how they may try to rush it.
Arashi: We wouldn't even want them to rush to get back earlier, if it means they end up causing problems and get kicked out of the event before it ends.
At the very least, we have to have Izumi-chan and Leo-kun do well over there.
We need them to show the world that Knights is here. They have to sparkle from the beginning to the very end.
Ritsu: Yeah, that's right. And of course, meanwhile, we in the Japan Team have to do what we can to get through the SS prelims.
To be honest, I'm not positive about our victory prospects.
But even if we bomb the qualifiers, we'd still have a failsafe if Secchan and Tsukipi~ do well overseas.
We can make excuses if we get eliminated. "We didn't have our best lineup here," or something.
Arashi: That'd be kind of frustrating, though. Since spring, we've been trying to focus our activities on the three of us still at Yumenosaki...
But we'd still have to rely on our graduates Izumi-chan and Leo-kun, because otherwise we could only get so far...
People might mock us for that—no, what's worse is that even if they do mock us, we wouldn't have anything to say for ourselves.
Ritsu: Yeah, that part really pisses me off. I'd hate it if people started thinking we always have to rely on people above us.
Tsukasa: Under these circumstances, however, we have no choice. We shall have Leo-san and Sena-senpai do well in Europe so that, if all else fails, they can be our lifeline.
Then even if we lose, we can still claim that we've made gains. None will be able to deny that we are forces to be reckoned with.
Ritsu: I mean, I think we're good on that front. We still have all our past accomplishments, and as for the situation now—anybody could see with a glance that the odds are stacked against us.
People will sympathize with us and understand if we end up losing.
Tsukasa: We will not lose! Yes, we may be in a dire situation right now, but we shall not be defeated!
Ritsu: Mm, well, it's not like we can't win, but there's no way to guarantee it either. We have to prepare ourselves for defeat too, just in case.
Arashi: It's just that it's embarrassing to have to leave it all up to our graduates instead of doing it ourselves.
"We focused all our efforts overseas, so we weren't able to show our full strength in SS"—
That's not even really the truth, but we'd have to say it anyway. I can't stand it—it's like we're lying to the world.
Ritsu: Plus, after SS, Secchan's gonna lord it over us, like "You really can't do anything without us, can you?!"
Arashi: Ugh, he totally would. I'd be more surprised if he didn't.
Tsukasa: Yes. We would not want to incur debts to our seniors in such a way, either.
Thus, until the very end, let us continue to put our every effort into securing ourselves a place in the finals.
Ritsu: Of course. The one thing that riles me up the most is being treated like a little kid who can't do anything without relying on adults.
Still, looking at our situation right now, we're pretty damn screwed...
Thanks to Secchan and Tsukipi~ having to leave, we broke the rule of not going to other regions.
There hasn't been any official reaction yet, but we did break the rules, so we will face punishment.
Seems like everyone in the other regions is being good and staying in place, so I have no idea what kind of punishment awaits us.
Probably a fine. I imagine they'll come and confiscate the SSL$ we worked hard to build up without doing any live battles.
The silver lining is that NewDi is in good standing with the people running the show.
The other guys in our agency, like Switch, have gotten pretty chummy with the SS higher-ups.
So they might let Knights off easy as the moneymakers of NewDi and not punish us too harshly—keyword, might.
Arashi: Eheh, we're usually the ones being put to work, so it's nice to have other units help us out every now and then. ♪
Tsukasa: While that may be true, it is still possible that they will not consider that angle and instead choose to burden us with a heavy penalty.
That may very well spell the end for us. Still, we must keep the possibility that this will not happen in mind and do our utmost to press on.
So that we may, at the very least, turn the worst possible outcome into simply a bad outcome—and if possible, even a good outcome...
Let us keep doing our best until the very end, everyone.
---
< Romanticism Chapter 3 || Masterlist || Romanticism Chapter 5 >
---
Location: Downtown Osaka - Evening
(A couple hours later, in downtown Osaka)
Tsukasa: —Unfortunately, everyone, the worst-case scenario has come to pass.
First of all, we've run out of time with Leo-san and Sena-senpai, and they've had to temporarily withdraw from our ranks.
From today until the final day of the SS qualifiers, they must make their appearance in that event in Europe instead.
It will be difficult for them to return to Japan before the qualifiers end, no matter how they may try to rush it.
Arashi: We wouldn't even want them to rush to get back earlier, if it means they end up causing problems and get kicked out of the event before it ends.
At the very least, we have to have Izumi-chan and Leo-kun do well over there.
We need them to show the world that Knights is here. They have to sparkle from the beginning to the very end.
Ritsu: Yeah, that's right. And of course, meanwhile, we in the Japan Team have to do what we can to get through the SS prelims.
To be honest, I'm not positive about our victory prospects.
But even if we bomb the qualifiers, we'd still have a failsafe if Secchan and Tsukipi~ do well overseas.
We can make excuses if we get eliminated. "We didn't have our best lineup here," or something.
Arashi: That'd be kind of frustrating, though. Since spring, we've been trying to focus our activities on the three of us still at Yumenosaki...
But we'd still have to rely on our graduates Izumi-chan and Leo-kun, because otherwise we could only get so far...
People might mock us for that—no, what's worse is that even if they do mock us, we wouldn't have anything to say for ourselves.
Ritsu: Yeah, that part really pisses me off. I'd hate it if people started thinking we always have to rely on people above us.
Tsukasa: Under these circumstances, however, we have no choice. We shall have Leo-san and Sena-senpai do well in Europe so that, if all else fails, they can be our lifeline.
Then even if we lose, we can still claim that we've made gains. None will be able to deny that we are forces to be reckoned with.
Ritsu: I mean, I think we're good on that front. We still have all our past accomplishments, and as for the situation now—anybody could see with a glance that the odds are stacked against us.
People will sympathize with us and understand if we end up losing.
Tsukasa: We will not lose! Yes, we may be in a dire situation right now, but we shall not be defeated!
Ritsu: Mm, well, it's not like we can't win, but there's no way to guarantee it either. We have to prepare ourselves for defeat too, just in case.
Arashi: It's just that it's embarrassing to have to leave it all up to our graduates instead of doing it ourselves.
"We focused all our efforts overseas, so we weren't able to show our full strength in SS"—
That's not even really the truth, but we'd have to say it anyway. I can't stand it—it's like we're lying to the world.
Ritsu: Plus, after SS, Secchan's gonna lord it over us, like "You really can't do anything without us, can you?!"
Arashi: Ugh, he totally would. I'd be more surprised if he didn't.
Tsukasa: Yes. We would not want to incur debts to our seniors in such a way, either.
Thus, until the very end, let us continue to put our every effort into securing ourselves a place in the finals.
Ritsu: Of course. The one thing that riles me up the most is being treated like a little kid who can't do anything without relying on adults.
Still, looking at our situation right now, we're pretty damn screwed...
Thanks to Secchan and Tsukipi~ having to leave, we broke the rule of not going to other regions.
There hasn't been any official reaction yet, but we did break the rules, so we will face punishment.
Seems like everyone in the other regions is being good and staying in place, so I have no idea what kind of punishment awaits us.
Probably a fine. I imagine they'll come and confiscate the SSL$ we worked hard to build up without doing any live battles.
The silver lining is that NewDi is in good standing with the people running the show.
The other guys in our agency, like Switch, have gotten pretty chummy with the SS higher-ups.
So they might let Knights off easy as the moneymakers of NewDi and not punish us too harshly—keyword, might.
Arashi: Eheh, we're usually the ones being put to work, so it's nice to have other units help us out every now and then. ♪
Tsukasa: While that may be true, it is still possible that they will not consider that angle and instead choose to burden us with a heavy penalty.
That may very well spell the end for us. Still, we must keep the possibility that this will not happen in mind and do our utmost to press on.
So that we may, at the very least, turn the worst possible outcome into simply a bad outcome—and if possible, even a good outcome...
Let us keep doing our best until the very end, everyone.
---
< Romanticism Chapter 3 || Masterlist || Romanticism Chapter 5 >
