Sudden Death - Romanticism Chapter 8
Aug. 13th, 2022 04:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivalriesSeason: Winter
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Location: Downtown Osaka - Evening
Ritsu: Mm... So, instead of motivating people with duty and moral obligation, you use the law and salaries. I will admit that's much more common in this day and age.
It's way easier to do, too. The hard part is knowing when to stop, though... If you start leaning too much into that line of thinking, you'll end up like Ecchan.
Tsukasa: I believe I've said it many times already, but I, in fact, have always wanted to become like Tenshouin Onii-sama.
He has been what I've strived toward since long ago.
...To the extent that I find it rather mysterious that Tori-kun, who supposedly stands at my opposite extreme, is so attached to him.
Kohaku: Hey, sonny!
Tsukasa: ...?! Oukawa!
H-How many times must I tell you not to call me "sonny"? You are younger than me, are you not? Treating me like a child is very disrespectful!
Kohaku: But you're a sonny boy. No two ways about it.
Tsukasa: At the very least, I would much rather you call me "Suou Nii-han" like you did at one point.
I was so delighted to see your adoring eyes looking up at me—
As if I truly had gotten myself a cute little brother... ♪
Kohaku: Hmph. I only called ya that 'cause it was funny how excited ya got about it. Never actually thought ya were my big brother.
Tsukasa: Oh, don't say such sad things, Kohakun~
Kohaku: Hey, drop the nickname. Really gets my goat when ya treat me like a baby too, y'know. Ya shouldn't be doin' what ya don't like done ta yourself.
But forget all that—pretty sure you've got bigger problems on your hands right now... right, sonny?
Heard it all from Leo-han when I ran into him at the airport. So your secret order done got leaked and now you're in a pickle, huh?
Tsukasa: ? I do believe that's quite the "hot topic" in the Kansai region. I do not see why you needed to ask Leo-san—
Kohaku: Ah, uh, y-yeah. You're right, but, y'know, sometimes ya gotta hear it straight from the horse's mouth 'fore ya judge who's tellin' the truth.
Tsukasa: I do suppose you're right. As you have pointed out, our situation is critical at the moment.
Kohaku: Figured as much. Shouldn't y'all be runnin' off to hide somewhere? If other idols catch you dilly-dallyin', you'll be robbed of all the cash you own.
Tsukasa: We have been doing our utmost to prevent that from happening.
Kohaku: S'that so? Geez, the hell're Rinne-han and the others up to? Thought we had an alliance with Knights; why'd they leave ya out to dry 'til it got this bad?
They said they'd suss out the culprit behind the leaks, then did damn all about it. Real sorry ya gotta deal with this bunch o' slackers.
Ritsu: ...I want to double-check just in case, but it's not actually Crazy:B putting up those orders all around town, right?
Kohaku: Huh? Why in blazes would we do that? How'd that benefit us at all?
I mean, our orders are out there right next to yours. Why would we do somethin' that hurts us?
Ritsu: (...That would make sense. Although, it's still a mystery why we don't know what secret order that Rinne Amagi guy got as the leader of Crazy:B...)
(All of the members' regular orders are there on those posters for everyone to see, though.)
(Niki Shiina isn't allowed to eat anything flour-based, HiMERU can't put on any makeup...)
(Rinne Amagi is forbidden from contacting his little brother, and Kohaku Oukawa—)
(...What was it? I remember it was something really stupid and easy. Literally, you could just keep going like normal without ever violating this order.)
(I think it was something like... "You must not kill people"? You don't need an order to stop someone from doing that—we have laws.)
(Well, there's no way to check whether the orders that were leaked are real or not.)
(Only the SS committee would know the truth.)
(Not to mention it's a common trope in mystery novels to have the culprit masquerade as a victim. It happens a lot in real life too, unfortunately.)
Kohaku: Maybe it's just a temporary alliance or all just for show, but either way, we're still allies. We'll cooperate with Knights.
Dunno where you're headed, but I'll show ya a good route to sneak through so nobody catches ya.
Tsukasa: You've always been good at that, Oukawa.
Kohaku: It's a habit by now. I always look for an escape route when I'm comin' to someplace for the first time.
So, for instance, if my weak an' helpless lord's in mortal danger, I can rush him off someplace safe.
Tsukasa: Very admirable of you. However, your concern is unnecessary.
Even without your aid, we shall reach our destination very soon—the theater we have rented in advance.
Once there, we shall seclude ourselves inside until the qualifiers end.
Kohaku: Huh... A theater?
Tsukasa: Yes. Until the SS qualifiers have passed, we shall perform there without pause.
Ritsu: —You're talking too much, Su~chan. He might be your relative or whatever, but he's not part of Knights' inner circle.
It's too risky to reveal so much about our situation.
If that info gets out, things are gonna get dicey.
The people who are after Knights' riches—our SSL$—will swarm us like bugs.
Tsukasa: Oukawa can be trusted.
Ritsu: On what basis?
Kohaku: He's right. Ain't somethin' I should say myself, but ya shouldn't trust me so much.
Tsukasa: But why? We are related—you are my family, and a long-time friend.
If I cannot trust someone like that, then who am I to trust at all?
Kohaku: And there it is. Always were a naive lil' softy, boy.
Ritsu: Yeah, he sure is a handful.
Tsukasa: W-What's the meaning of this—this mocking look in your eyes?! Have I said something amiss?!
Arashi: Ehehe. I know you're excited about being able to see your favorite playmate again...
But are we really in any position to stand around and chat, Tsukasa-chan?
Tsukasa: A-Ah, yes! Very true! You are always so level-headed and reliable, Narukami-senpai!
Arashi: And pretty as a picture, to boot. ♪
That's a big source of pride for me, so I find it kind of unpleasant when someone comes up asking me to get my pretty hands dirty.
Tsukasa: ? What do you mean...?
---
< Romanticism Chapter 7 || Masterlist || Romanticism Chapter 9 >
---
Location: Downtown Osaka - Evening
Ritsu: Mm... So, instead of motivating people with duty and moral obligation, you use the law and salaries. I will admit that's much more common in this day and age.
It's way easier to do, too. The hard part is knowing when to stop, though... If you start leaning too much into that line of thinking, you'll end up like Ecchan.
Tsukasa: I believe I've said it many times already, but I, in fact, have always wanted to become like Tenshouin Onii-sama.
He has been what I've strived toward since long ago.
...To the extent that I find it rather mysterious that Tori-kun, who supposedly stands at my opposite extreme, is so attached to him.
Kohaku: Hey, sonny!
Tsukasa: ...?! Oukawa!
H-How many times must I tell you not to call me "sonny"? You are younger than me, are you not? Treating me like a child is very disrespectful!
Kohaku: But you're a sonny boy. No two ways about it.
Tsukasa: At the very least, I would much rather you call me "Suou Nii-han" like you did at one point.
I was so delighted to see your adoring eyes looking up at me—
As if I truly had gotten myself a cute little brother... ♪
Kohaku: Hmph. I only called ya that 'cause it was funny how excited ya got about it. Never actually thought ya were my big brother.
Tsukasa: Oh, don't say such sad things, Kohakun~
Kohaku: Hey, drop the nickname. Really gets my goat when ya treat me like a baby too, y'know. Ya shouldn't be doin' what ya don't like done ta yourself.
But forget all that—pretty sure you've got bigger problems on your hands right now... right, sonny?
Heard it all from Leo-han when I ran into him at the airport. So your secret order done got leaked and now you're in a pickle, huh?
Tsukasa: ? I do believe that's quite the "hot topic" in the Kansai region. I do not see why you needed to ask Leo-san—
Kohaku: Ah, uh, y-yeah. You're right, but, y'know, sometimes ya gotta hear it straight from the horse's mouth 'fore ya judge who's tellin' the truth.
Tsukasa: I do suppose you're right. As you have pointed out, our situation is critical at the moment.
Kohaku: Figured as much. Shouldn't y'all be runnin' off to hide somewhere? If other idols catch you dilly-dallyin', you'll be robbed of all the cash you own.
Tsukasa: We have been doing our utmost to prevent that from happening.
Kohaku: S'that so? Geez, the hell're Rinne-han and the others up to? Thought we had an alliance with Knights; why'd they leave ya out to dry 'til it got this bad?
They said they'd suss out the culprit behind the leaks, then did damn all about it. Real sorry ya gotta deal with this bunch o' slackers.
Ritsu: ...I want to double-check just in case, but it's not actually Crazy:B putting up those orders all around town, right?
Kohaku: Huh? Why in blazes would we do that? How'd that benefit us at all?
I mean, our orders are out there right next to yours. Why would we do somethin' that hurts us?
Ritsu: (...That would make sense. Although, it's still a mystery why we don't know what secret order that Rinne Amagi guy got as the leader of Crazy:B...)
(All of the members' regular orders are there on those posters for everyone to see, though.)
(Niki Shiina isn't allowed to eat anything flour-based, HiMERU can't put on any makeup...)
(Rinne Amagi is forbidden from contacting his little brother, and Kohaku Oukawa—)
(...What was it? I remember it was something really stupid and easy. Literally, you could just keep going like normal without ever violating this order.)
(I think it was something like... "You must not kill people"? You don't need an order to stop someone from doing that—we have laws.)
(Well, there's no way to check whether the orders that were leaked are real or not.)
(Only the SS committee would know the truth.)
(Not to mention it's a common trope in mystery novels to have the culprit masquerade as a victim. It happens a lot in real life too, unfortunately.)
Kohaku: Maybe it's just a temporary alliance or all just for show, but either way, we're still allies. We'll cooperate with Knights.
Dunno where you're headed, but I'll show ya a good route to sneak through so nobody catches ya.
Tsukasa: You've always been good at that, Oukawa.
Kohaku: It's a habit by now. I always look for an escape route when I'm comin' to someplace for the first time.
So, for instance, if my weak an' helpless lord's in mortal danger, I can rush him off someplace safe.
Tsukasa: Very admirable of you. However, your concern is unnecessary.
Even without your aid, we shall reach our destination very soon—the theater we have rented in advance.
Once there, we shall seclude ourselves inside until the qualifiers end.
Kohaku: Huh... A theater?
Tsukasa: Yes. Until the SS qualifiers have passed, we shall perform there without pause.
Ritsu: —You're talking too much, Su~chan. He might be your relative or whatever, but he's not part of Knights' inner circle.
It's too risky to reveal so much about our situation.
If that info gets out, things are gonna get dicey.
The people who are after Knights' riches—our SSL$—will swarm us like bugs.
Tsukasa: Oukawa can be trusted.
Ritsu: On what basis?
Kohaku: He's right. Ain't somethin' I should say myself, but ya shouldn't trust me so much.
Tsukasa: But why? We are related—you are my family, and a long-time friend.
If I cannot trust someone like that, then who am I to trust at all?
Kohaku: And there it is. Always were a naive lil' softy, boy.
Ritsu: Yeah, he sure is a handful.
Tsukasa: W-What's the meaning of this—this mocking look in your eyes?! Have I said something amiss?!
Arashi: Ehehe. I know you're excited about being able to see your favorite playmate again...
But are we really in any position to stand around and chat, Tsukasa-chan?
Tsukasa: A-Ah, yes! Very true! You are always so level-headed and reliable, Narukami-senpai!
Arashi: And pretty as a picture, to boot. ♪
That's a big source of pride for me, so I find it kind of unpleasant when someone comes up asking me to get my pretty hands dirty.
Tsukasa: ? What do you mean...?
---
< Romanticism Chapter 7 || Masterlist || Romanticism Chapter 9 >
