#anyway if I can be known as the Yuzuru guy then that’s my day made

[chameleonwritess]

as a baby yuzuruP trying to learn more abt the silly-- can you enlighten me on his wiki it talks abt him speaking in the third person when emotional??? I've only found that in a few stories and it's strange to me, do you have any commentary?

Oooo yeah, I almost forgot he did this!! It happens a lot in ! Era, a lot of the time if Tori does something nice (or objectively not that nice tbh) he’ll be like “this Yuzuru Fushimi is too moved for words!”

BUT, it’s essentially proven to be a disingenuous thing when he does it lol. Tbf, given he’s not one of the characters who always defaults to speaking in 3rd person (like Sora or HiMERU) it’s already a bit of a given that he’s doing it as part of a persona/as a bit, but this is further proven during Resort Live when Rei and Eichi have a whole conversation about how Yuzuru says the politest things but the underlying tone is soooo passive aggressive. See, one of my favourite Yuzuru moments:

Yuzuru: I, Yuzuru, am too moved to even speak

Eichi: Translate for me Sakuma-kun

Rei: “Quit naggin’ at me.”

Yuzuru: Fufu

Anyway, in short the speaking in third person thing is kiiiiinda not proper third person half the time, more just a self-address, and it generally seems to happen as part of his ‘polite butler’ facade whenever something happens that he deems to be emotionally moving such as Tori being kind to him. It almost feels like a way to ensure his ‘audience’ believes that he’s genuinely moved by what happened. Hmmmmm Yuzuru and masks. This is why Wataru finds him soooo interesting when they first meet (during Flower Fes ahhhh I love their interactions during that story)

Sorry for the rambling, I can’t be concise to save myself BUT!!! I’m so glad the world is gaining another YuzuruP. He is so good AGHHHHH

[forwards-beckon-rebound]

dick grayson figure skating hcs

i swear i wasn’t searching for any skater specifically but what am i supposed to do, look at yuzuru hanyu and not use the pic?

ft mostly men’s singles but there’s bonus dick x reader pairs at the end

we’ve talked about dick grayson going to the olympics for gymnastics

what probably happened was the batfam got together and decided to watch the summer olympics and we got to pommel horse guy

and jason made some comment about how that guy’s basically just a better dick

and he took that personally

so of course he’s already calling up the us gymnastics team because what is the point of being bruce wayne’s son if you don’t have the most random connections ever (and they were probably already begging him to join anyways)

but 4 years is a long time to wait, so in the meantime, he decides to work on competing in the winter olympics too

and he just so happens to be a figure skating prodigy bc ofc he is (bruce signs them up for a lot of extracurriculars so all of the bat kids are weirdly good at random stuff)

ooooh this means that he’d be good at ballet too which pisses me off

he’s kinda like nathan chen in the sense that this guy is good at too many things and my asian parents would unfortunately love him

anyways! back on topic

unfortunately brian orser cannot be flown out to gotham every day (if you don’t know who he is, he is simply the goat i don’t make the rules) so dick probably has a different coach for day to day training

but he went to intensives a couple of times a year growing up

he kinda stopped when the titans and nightwing stuff got to be too much to handle but the two of them still keep in touch and brian’s like i can’t believe my star pupil is wasting his talents being a cop, why is he not on the ice

so you KNOW as soon as the olympics idea comes up dick’s calling brian up and bro sheds tears when he gets the call

he already had the routines planned out and the songs picked because he keeps on getting ideas and being like this is so dick grayson coded (with the same energy as somebody writing headcanons i imagine)

guys hear me out, fun jazzy short

like he gets the crowd to clap along and he just has the brightest smile on his face the whole time

yes i am thinking about kagiyama yuma’s song choice at the beijing olympics. and honestly his outfit too but i’m imagining dick’s is a brighter blue

and you think it’s all fun and games

AND HE PULLS OUT THE CLEANEST 3A + 1EU + 4L KNOWN TO MAN

and ofc he can do a quad axel who is surprised

lives were changed with the short 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

alsoooooo the ISU legalized backflips now and you know dick is gonna do one of those

ACTUALLY if you guys have ever seen malinin's raspberry twist

are we seeing the vision guys

i feel like he would choose something more emotional for his free (gotta get those performance points)

if nobody is bawling by the end of his program then i am dead

i selfishly want him to skate to yuri on ice (like the actual piece, although i can make a whole list of yuri on ice songs i think would suit him) but i don't know if he's a weeb like that

as a dancer, i feel like step sequences is where i'm the least impressed

he would not disappoint though, like everything's so clean? and so emotive?

i feel like he was built for the biellmann, especially the hyperextended and no i'm not taking notes

THE PRETTIEST OUTFITS EVER

if anybody wants to draw fanart of dick in yuzuru hanyu's skating costumes haha

at the end of his program he's going to point towards his family and bow to them ofc

butttttt he may or may not send a particularly smug look in jason's direction

and the wide grin that he has on his face when he's announced the winner is made even wider because he knows that jason's in the stands gnashing his teeth

bonus: fanfic idea? dick x reader pairs event where they grew up skating together

they had crushes on each other but never said anything

they get into a fight because dick wants to quit

but then a few years later he’s like haha wanna compete together?

and reader thinks he’s not taking this seriously and is still mad at him for leaving but brian’s like great! welcome back dick so obviously they’re stuck together now

and of course they have a very…interesting program (tumblr is not letting me add the link but just search up the tessa virtue and scott moir moulin rouge perfrormance)

at first it’s super awkward, dick’s like not even super sure why she’s still acting weird around him, they continue to butt heads

and it all culminates in their free, when they realize that these emotions aren’t just for performance points but actually genuine??

AND THEN THEY KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE

okay that’s all!

[boozuru]

Ghostic Prologue

chapter select  ⇢

(NOT JP PROOFED)

Season: Autumn

Yuzuru: (Goodness, I’m such a disgrace!)

(Fushimi Yuzuru, this is the greatest mistake of your life. Young master could fall into danger any moment…!)

Tori: Help… me…

Yuzuru: Young master…!

Yuzuru: I’m here! Where are you? Young master!

Tori: …

Yuzuru: Oh, thank goodness. So that’s where you were hiding. I’m glad you’re safe.

Tori: ……

Yuzuru: I can’t see any life in his eyes…

Yuzuru: I knew it, it wasn’t me misinterpreting anything. There’s something “dangerous” in this haunted house-

If only I had known, I would have been more vigilant.

Evil has made its home in this mansion. The evil spirit's existence is-

〈Going back in time by several days〉

〈Late October. One day during "Halloween Party" preparations.〉

Mao: …Phew. Good work today!

At first I was worried if we would make it in time, but now all the clerical work for collaborating with ES is basically done.

I think managing "Halloween Party" will be way easier from now on.

And Yuzuru, thanks for handling communications with Tenshouin-senpai.

Yuzuru: No need for thanks, I was also having trouble with this year's "Halloween Party" anyway.

If anything, I apologize for having to rely on Eichi-sama when we are from the same unit.

Mao: Don't say that. But yeah, it feels kinda wrong to ask the alumni for help. You're not in the wrong though, you just don't want to be thought of as an undependable underclassman.

And somehow Hasumi-senpai sensed our troubles. He really helped us out by negotiating ES joint hosting stuff with Tenshouin-senpai.

And thanks to that, we don't have to worry about the lack of live venues at Yumenosaki Academy grounds. Now we just have to focus on our individual units. ♪

Tori: A blessing in disguise, am I right~? Now we can have a joint Halloween with ES since Hasumi-senpai arranged stuff with Eichi-sama.

Make sure to thank Eichi-sama for his generosity, okay~?

Mao: Chill, dude. You're also a part of the student council, so you were the one being HELPED, right?

Ah well, whatever. It's true that we should be thankful for alumni that are willing to help us on short notice.

Shinobu: Yup yup! A helping hand when we needed one. Thanks to that, I'll be able to join in on Ryuseitai's Halloween celebration quickly too.

I'm happy that everyone else can do the same with their respective units. ♪

Mao: But it feels like I'm just making everyone else work in my stead since the others in Trickstar are working their butts off without me...

If I remember right, in fine's case Tenshouin-senpai is taking care of the project, right?

Tori: Yup. Eichi-sama is the one taking care of the ES side of things.

He did have me and Yuzuru give suggestions till the halfway point, but told us to prioritize the school so I'm pretty sure that's what's up.

Also, I don't think we need to worry about Eichi-sama considering his project track record. Hibiki-senpai joined him and so those two are working on it now.

Fufu, if there's anything that we should be worried about, it's whether Eichi-sama will be okay without me〜♪

Yuzuru: Isn't it too early to be so lax, young master?

We won't make it in time if we don't keep up our current pace. Eichi-sama and Hibiki-sama are working on Halloween preparations, and we also have our own work to do.

Tori: I know~ Yuzuru, I always tell you that you worry too much.

Besides, I've been just raring to go from the start.

You all saw what Eichi-sama's working on, right!? There's gonna be a large-scale haunted house this year at ES!

Thinking about it makes my exhaustion from practice basically fade away! ♪

Mao: A haunted house? That's awfully ambitious, isn't it~?

Shinobu: As expected of Tenshouin-dono. His mind is truly something else!

Tori: I know right? No one can beat Eichi-sama when it comes to planning stuff!

Anyways. Yuzuru, since the worst of student council work is basically done, let's go to ES.

Sorry to you guys, but us in fine are totally gonna steal the show! Try not to get forgotten now〜♪

Mao: Haha, he's really cheerful, isn't he~? Even his steps feel lighter somehow. ♪

Yuzuru: My apologies for the young master's rude behaviour, Isara-sama, Sengoku-sama.

Shinobu: No problem. If anything, seeing Tori-kun gave me new kind of energy.

Ryuseitai might be lacking in funds compared to fine, but we will liven up Halloween as well!

Yuzuru: Thank you for your reassurance.

However, young master was strangely carefree today. He must have been frustrated since he couldn't participate in fine's projects due to his position in the student council.

...Regardless, now is not the time to speculate. I suspect that if I leave young master alone right now, he will carelessly injure himself.

If you will excuse me, I will also take my leave earlier than planned. Thank you.

Mao: Yeah, thanks for today.

You can go too, Sengoku. The rest of Ryuseitai is waiting at ES, right?

We are gonna practice on campus, so I'm fine with closing up the student council office.

Shinobu: Thank you for thinking of me! Well then, I shall also take my leave.

Trick or Treat - I'm going to work hard so I can bring joy to everyone when the time comes....★

Mao: Haha. Everyone scuttled away like a bunch of baby spiders. Just that is making me think about Halloween and getting me hyped up about participating.

Alright. I'm gonna take a short break from student council president work, and spice up Halloween as idol me!

Wait for me, Trickstar… ★

[aeoki]

Ghostic: Prologue

Location: ES Halloween Stage (fine) Characters: Touri, Shinobu, Mao & Yuzuru Season: Autumn Writer: Seitarou Kino (Happy Elements) & Akira

Yuzuru: (Ahh, what a disgrace.)

(I, Yuzuru Fushimi, have made a mistake of a lifetime. At this rate, the Young Master will be in danger…!)

Touri: Help me…

Yuzuru: Young Master…!

I’m over here! Where are you? Young Master!

Touri: ………

Yuzuru: Oh, thank goodness. You were over here. I’m relieved to see you’re unhurt.

Touri: ………

Yuzuru: The Young Master’s eyes are lifeless…

Yuzuru: As I thought my hunch was correct – there is something “bad” in this haunted house.

I should have been more cautious if I had known this would happen.

There is an evil haunting this mansion. Among the evil ghosts, there is–

< A few days ago. >

< The latter half of October. On a certain day preparing for “Halloween Party”. >

Location: Student Council Room

Mao: ...*Phew* Good job, guys!

I wasn’t sure if we could finish in the beginning, but it looks like most of the paperwork for ES’ collaboration has been completed.

I think the management for “Halloween Party” has gotten a lot easier. 

Yuzuru, thanks for getting in touch with Tenshouin-senpai too.

Yuzuru: No need to thank me, I was already having difficulty with this year’s “Halloween Party”.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been I, a member of “fine”, to request Eichi-sama’s assistance. I’m terribly sorry.

Mao: No no. It feels kinda wrong of us to contact a senior who’s graduated already. I didn’t want him to think I’m unreliable, so you’re not in the wrong at all, Yuzuru.

Anyway, it really helped that Hasumi-senpai got wind of our troubles and negotiated ES’ joint sponsorship with Tenshouin-senpai. 

Thanks to him, we’ve cleared the issue of not having enough performance venues at the school. All that’s left is to focus on our own “units”.

Touri: Yeah, you really got lucky~ It’s all thanks to Hasumi-senpai negotiating with Eichi-sama that we get to have Halloween with ES.

You guys better be grateful for Eichi-sama’s generosity~

Mao: Hey, you’re also a member of the Student Council, so he technically helped you out too, you know?

Oh well. Either way, I should be thankful to a graduated senior who helped us with our unexpected troubles.

Shinobu: Yup. He truly is a “helping hand” ~de gozaru. Thanks to him, I think I can meet up with “RYUUSEITAI” earlier than expected for our Halloween activities. 

I’m happy to see that everyone else can also meet up with their “units” ~de gozaru ♪

Mao: Everyone else but me in “Trickstar” is working really hard, so it just feels like I’m just dropping in at the last minute, though.

If I remember correctly, Tenshouin-senpai’s in charge of the event for “fine”, right?

Touri: Yup. We’re leaving ES to Eichi-sama.

Both me and Yuzuru were helping out with the planning up until halfway, but Eichi-sama told us we should prioritise Yumenosaki Academy, and I thought what he said was very true.

Besides, we don’t have to worry since Eichi-sama has created so many successful events already. That’s why we decided it’d be best for him and Hibiki-senpai to go ahead with the preparations.

Fufu, if there’s anything worth worrying about, then I guess it might be the fact that Eichi-sama is feeling lonely because I’m not there with him~♪

Yuzuru: It’s too early to relax, Young Master.

Seeing as Eichi-sama and Hibiki-sama are working on the preparations for Halloween in advance means we must work harder than them, or else we may not make it in time.

Touri: I know~ Sheesh, you always notice the small things, Yuzuru.

Besides, I’m always super motivated, you know?

You saw Eichi-sama’s proposal, too, right? They’re doing a grand haunted house at ES!

A difficult lesson is nothing compared to that ♪

Mao: A haunted house? That sounds pretty complicated~

Shinobu: As expected of Tenshouin-dono. His ideas are on a whole different level ~de gozaru. 

Touri: I know, right? No one can even stand close to Eichi-sama’s planning skills ♪

Anyway, we’ve reached a good stopping point in our Student Council work, so let’s go to ES. Yuzuru?

Sorry, but “fine” is gonna be the main attraction of Halloween this year! Take care not to get buried in the ground~♪

Mao: Haha, he sure seems energetic~ His footsteps look so light ♪

Yuzuru: I apologise for my Young Master’s rudeness, Isara-sama, Sengoku-sama.

Shinobu: No, it’s fine. I feel motivated watching Touri-kun too.

“RYUUSEITAI” doesn’t have the same funds as “fine”, but we’ll liven up Halloween as a familiar presence ~de gozaru!

Yuzuru: Thank you for your kind words.

But the Young Master’s movements seemed oddly light. I was sure he would have been frustrated not being able to have a say in “fine’s” plans up until now, due to his position as a member of the Student Council.

…Or so I had thought, but this is not the time to be sharing what’s on my mind. If I were to leave the Young Master on his own, I’m sure he may carelessly hurt himself.

I shall take my leave as well. May you all enjoy the rest of your evening.

Mao: Yeah, you too.

Sengoku, you can leave too. Your “RYUUSEITAI” members are waiting at ES, right?

I’m planning on practising at school, so I’ll lock the student council room.

Shinobu: Thank you for being so considerate. Then, I shall go as well ~de gozaru.

Trick or Treat – I’ll do my best so that I can make everyone happy on the big day…☆

Mao: Haha. They all left like baby spiders. They must have all been itching to participate in the Halloween activities.

Alright. I’ll take a break from student council work and get the Halloween spirit going as an idol!

Wait for me, “Trickstar”...☆

Next Chapter →

[ootori-sibs]

Through the eyes of the patriarch

Part 2: The game

Tw: implied neglect

With Fiyumi living with her husband and Akito off at university, mealtimes at the mansion were quite quiet. Yoshio picked at his food as he watched his sons silently eat; Yuuichi was reading a newspaper, one about innovations in the medical industry, Kyoya, on the other hand, was focused entirely on his food, staring down at it with a faraway look in his mind, a pensive look that if the light had hit his glasses like it so often did, it might just look like a glare- was this what Souh had mentioned. Yoshio silently sighed, swallowing his pride, “Kyoya?” He couldn’t help but notice how Kyoya jolted, instantly sitting up and adjusting his glasses, he didn't mention it though, “is there something on your mind?”

Kyoya was clearly worried, Yoshio noticed, and even Yuuichi glanced up from his newspaper. “No father, I’m just not that hungry.”

Hm, that was a lie, clearly. Yoshio just nodded, he didn’t really want to press it, so he opted to change the subject, “so, how was school?” That was something Yuzuru had suggested he do, it felt very unnatural coming from him but he hoped Kyoya would appreciate it.

“I- pardon?” the boy looked so shocked and almost scared, “why? Is something wrong, father?” Kyoya was definitely scared and Yoshio understood why, even Yuuichi’s eyes had gone wide. Yoshio wasn’t usually the type to ask about things like that unless something was wrong- he did have his doubts about Souh’s suggestion.

“No, not at all,” he assured Kyoya, still unable to sound anything other than professional, “I'm just curious.”

“Oh,” Kyoya seemed a little disorientated now, frowning but looking quite surprised still, “well it’s good, we did a 1800s america theme in the club so we saved money reusing those little hair extensions, although mine was a little too long so I had to get a new one.”

“Oh yes, I believed you mentioned the whole dressing up thing,” Yoshio did not agree with the idea of dressing up to attract such people, he thought it sounded incredibly improper, "I assume you had, uh… fun?"

"Well I don't really find the cosplay part of it fun, I prefer to sit quietly with some tea and work on the finances or some homework," there he is, that's Yoshio's son for you, ever the studious one. "Unfortunately," oh, Kyoya wasn't done, "I couldn't get much done, as Tamaki had taken it upon himself to behave strangely today," the boy let out a laboured sigh, clearly tired of Souh's antics, Yoshio almost regretted the deal he'd made with Yuzuru before he even told Kyoya.

"Strangely? How so?"

He seemed a lot more relaxed now, Yoshio was surprised by how Kyoya seemed a bit more willing to talk then when they began, "I'm not sure what's gotten into him today, but he was even more clingy and he wouldn't even let me eat lunch by myself, he usually leaves me to do that."

"You eat lunch by yourself?" Yuuichi finally spoke up, placing his newspaper down. Yoshio was surprised to hear him chime in, Yuuichi usually didn't interrupt things, though he saw that his heir's eyes were filled with concern, "do you always eat alone? If you have friends shouldn't you be spending lunchtimes with them?"

Kyoya paused, glancing down, "I spend a lot of time with them, I simply enjoy a little bit of a quiet rest. It's easier to enjoy my meal in some peace and quiet."

"It's not crime," Yoshio confirmed, "I mean, if the Souh boy is as annoying as is to be assumed, I can't blame you for wishing for some peace." He watched Yuuichi nod, sitting back down, then saw Kyoya frown in the corner of his eyes, he seemingly got angry but bit it back, presumably fighting the urge to defend the Souh boy. Yoshio was beginning to believe Yuzuru was right in his assumption, but there was one detail he had realised. "Did he have an excuse for this new behaviour?"

"No father, I didn't ask him."

"Hm," at least Tamaki knew when to keep his trap shut, he must have gotten that from Anne-sophie. "Alright then, I checked your grades this morning and you're still doing perfect, I couldn't find fault if I tried." Yoshio saw how Kyoya looked mildly surprised, he'd gotten an A- on an assignment and usually he'd be tough on that front, or at least bring it up, but Yuzuru had suggested care and leniency, so Yoshio was going to let that one go; everyone struggles at one subject anyway.

After dinner, Yoshio was straight on the phone to Souh, Yuzuru picked up instantly, just like he knew he would. "Good evening Ootori, is everything alright?" He seemed to be in quite the chipper mood, he wouldn't be for long.

Walking through the halls with his phone in hand, Yoshio let his tone drop to a drawl- not quite a growl, "Yuzuru…" that idiot, Yoshio had half a mine to cut him down where he stood. Instead, he took a deep breath and continued towards his office.

"Oh! Oh ok, something's definitely wrong. What's got you in such a mood?"

"Did you tell your son?"

"Huh? Tell Tamaki… oh, about the arrangement? Of course I did, why?"

Ugh, what a moron. How this guy got to be the head of a company, Yoshio had no clue. "He's been acting differently towards Kyoya, who doesn't know yet. What kind of a moron do-!"

"Why didn't you tell him?"

What? Yuzuru's question cut through Yoshio's thoughts and left him hanging there, why hadn't he told Kyoya? He supposed he didn't want his son to worry about having to behave differently, or maybe it was because he technically wasn't supposed to know of Kyoya's persuasion? Yoshio wasn't sure.

"I don't know, Yuzuru. I believe I should wait a little first, but if you insist on telling your boy, I suppose I must tell mine, I just-"

"Oh! A game!"

"A game? What?" Yoshio was annoyed by Yuzuru interrupting him, to suggest a game? What kind of a childish bastard was this man?

"Tamaki can try and romance Kyoya without the arrangement hanging over their heads! Well Tamaki will know but he is absolutely ecstatic about marrying his best friend! So it will seem to Kyoya that it's perfectly natural!"

"Are you suggesting we encourage your heir toy with my son's emotions?" He was nothing if not a protective father, Yoshio was, and if this was truly what Yuzuru intended, then he could not and would not allow it

"No, no! Not what I meant! I mean, Kyoya is a hesitant kid when it comes to emotions, Tamaki can help ease him into the idea before we drop the bombshell. Making it a game is just a plus!" Yuzuru was, certainly a strange man, Yoshio had known him for quite a while but failed to understand a word that left the old codger's mouth.

"I…" he sighed, standing still for just a moment, "a week, I'll give him a week."

"Huh?"

"Your son has a week, I'm giving him the opportunity to win over Kyoya of his own accord before I tell him of the arrangement," he spoke clearly and concisely, leaving no room for doubt.

"Tamaki can do that easily!"

"The only rules are that it must stay innocent and that he is not allowed to tell Kyoya about the arrangement himself. Understood?" Yoshio ignored the previous comment from Yuzuru, disliking how the man had implied Kyoya to be 'easy' as it were.

"Understood," Yuzuru confirmed, sounding pleased still, "is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Hm, I believe so. Unless you wish to bet on how easily my son will yield?"

Yuzuru just laughed at that, "you are a harp Yoshio! You should try cracking jokes more often, you're good at it!" He seemed rather cheerful, and Yoshio would almost think it contagious, "I'll have to pass on the waivers, I still need to convince my mother that this is good for business."

Oh that woman, there wasn't a woman more hated than Shizue in all of the upper crust. Yoshio scoffed at the mere thought of her, "good luck there Souh, if you need; I have plenty of dirt on her."

"I'll pass on blackmailing my mother for now as well, au revoir Yoshio."

With that, Souh ended the call, leaving Yoshio in silence. He sighed and continued on his way towards his office, he couldn’t believe he’d just agreed to something like that, he usually wouldn’t. He supposed this might be good, to indulge in revelry? Was that not what Yuzuru had encouraged? Yoshio began to wonder if maybe he shouldn’t rely on only one person for this kind of advice. He shook the thought from his mind and continued on to his office.

When he arrived at his office door, however, Yuuichi was standing there, waiting for him. "Father?" He glanced at Yoshio, standing up from where he'd been leaning against the wall, "can I ask you a question?"

"Hm," Yoshio frowned, unlocking the door to his office, "what is it?" He knew that tone in Yuuichi's voice, this question would not be about business. Walking into the office, Yoshio didn't glance back at his son as the young man spoke again.

"Why have you been behaving so gently towards Kyoya as of late?"

Hm, Yoshio paused, not glancing back. He knew he'd been a terrible father, but to hear that Yuuichi considered merely asking about Kyoya's day as being soft, he must have been worse than he thought. "Yuuichi, there's nothing wrong with inquiring about my son's day, it's not gentle to care about my son."

"You never did that before."

Yoshio froze.

His son, his darling, eldest boy, his heir, his pride and joy, he thought Yoshio didn't care… it was enough to break the old man’s heart. Yoshio closed his eyes, forcing years of emotional repression to do its job, he can’t cry, not in front of his heir. He straightened his back, letting out a small sigh, “Yuuichi, are you jealous of your brother?”

“Pardon?”

He turned to look at him, the sadness on Yuuichi’s face was clear under the attempt to stay stoic, Yoshio had never paid that much attention to his children's emotions but he knew that Yuuichi was hurting. "You're jealous I'm trying to show care towards Kyoya, aren't you? I understand, you're allowed to feel like that. I failed to be a father to you, I'm trying to actually behave like a father now." He sat down, "is there anything you think I should have done for you? I'm willing to give you what you deserve."

Yuuichi visibly paused, he clearly hadn't been expecting such honesty and openness from Yoshio. The man himself sat there silently, waiting for his son's response. The usually strong and resilient heir genuinely teared up at those words, "father…"

"I'm not going to be very good at it," Yoshio made sure to warn him, recognising his lack of emotional intelligence. Yuuichi didn't seem to care, wiping his eyes.

"Father… if you're really willing to care about us… then would you like to come and play golf with me next week?" Ah, Yuuichi, Yoshio really adored his kid, he nodded, a tired smile on his face.

"Of course I will, that sounds like a good day." He watched Yuuichi's expression, that smile was a rare one; the kind he made whenever Yoshio verbally expressed pride in him. Yoshio wondered if he'd get smiles like that one from all his children once he gets better at the whole parenting thing… he hoped so.

Pouring himself a glass of whiskey, he watched his son leave the room. He opened his laptop and got to work, just some basic, mindless admin work, he had a lot of people to do all the hard work for him. So all he really had to do was check everything he was sent and provide feedback when needed,

He sat down to get some work done, he didn’t really have that much to do as he had people to do most of the work for him, all Yoshio really had to do was answer a few emails and review information. It was easy work really, there was very little for him to do that day, so he decided to ‘lighten up a little’ as Yuzuru had put it, pouring himself some tea and putting a vinyl on the gramophone- he remembered learning how to dance to this song, he’d learnt in middle school, he was told his future wife needed him to be cultured. He’d always found that amusing, it was always other people telling him what she wanted, she never told him any of this herself. Yoshio wondered if that had been the same for Fiyumi's husband, he had made demands for her after all… that might have just been a parental thing.

Speaking of making demands of your child's betrothed; Yoshio had completely abandoned his work, instead he was typing up a list of demands Tamaki had to meet. He wasn't going to ask for the club to be disbanded, (he saw how well it had ended for Eclair) but he still wanted Tamaki to lower the amount of girls he was seeing just a little. He also asked that Tamaki work harder to please Shizue, Yoshio wanted his future son-in-law to have a guaranteed career and he would be willing to speak to Shizue herself if need be. There were certain subjects that Tamaki needed to work harder at, but mostly Yoshio just wanted to ensure that his son would be well loved by this boy- he didn't trust the Souh heir but he might if the child put in a little effort.

A few hours afterwards, once he'd finished his work and emailed the list of demands to the Souh boy, Yoshio began to head down towards his room. It had been a long day and he was tired, so he was planning to get some sleep earlier than usual- it was only midnight after all.

The corridors of the mansion were quiet at this time of night, and it sent shivers down Yoshio’s spine. He could swear he saw a shadow In the corner of his eyes, but continued on his way up the stairs to the third floor.

When he reached the landing, he saw a silhouette, stepping forward, he realised it was just Kyoya… why was Kyoya up so late? He appeared to be holding a cup of coffee, and Yoshio had half a mind to fire whatever maid gave it to him. Kyoya looked so tired, clutching the cup of coffee in one hand and a piece of paper in the other, he was staring out the window and he looked like he was questioning life. Yoshio couldn't blame him.

He slowly stepped forward, trying to get a better view of Kyoya's expression. "Kyoya? What are you doing awake?"

Kyoya glanced at him, looking surprised, "father? Oh, good morning…"

"It's not morning Kyoya…"

"Oh, I thought…"

Yoshio sighed, massaging his temples, "why are you out of bed?"

"I haven't gone to bed yet today actually…" Kyoya confessed, hanging his head in shame. Yoshio sighed, this evening had contained too much parenting for his liking.

Putting a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, Yoshio did his best to sound gentle, "is there something on your mind?" He was really uneasy with this, he hated showing emotions but Kyoya was clearly bothered by something.

Kyoya was hesitant, clearly not used to Yoshio giving him this kind of attention, "I…" he looked startled and confused, his little, half-asleep brain trying to figure out whether or not this was a trap. Yoshio supposed that was his fault for training his kids to never let their guard down. Kyoya did just that after a few seconds, sighing and glancing down at the paper in his hand, "father… do you want to read this?"

Yoshio nodded, taking the paper and looking at it. For all he read it, he couldn't understand what the fuck it was talking about, it was in Japanese, yes, but it was still complete poetic nonsense. He couldn't make heads nor tails of it, it was just a bunch of metaphors on metaphors and just, just so much prose. Yoshio was 60% sure this was supposed to be romantic but he was absolutely terrible at this sort of thing, what he was sure of, however, was that the Souh boy definitely wrote this, the sudden french phrases in the middle of Japanese sentences was rather telling.

He hands the paper back to Kyoya, "so Souh gave this to you? Did he say anything?"

"No, but he's been acting strange all day."

Nodding slowly, Yoshio glanced out the window, "do you like him, Kyoya?"

"What..?" The shake in Kyoya's voice broke Yoshio's heart, the fear in his tone a reminder of how distant Yoshio had been. "Well… I…" a defeated sigh left his youngest son's lips, and Kyoya hung his head, not meeting Yoshio's eyes, "yes."

"Alright then," Yoshio offered a smile, "tell him so. Those Souh's thrive on attention, give him what he craves." Kyoya looked up at him in surprise, but Yoshio simply shrugged, "as long as you don't put yourself beneath him then I don't see any issue. Now go to bed."

"I…" Kyoya was still so shocked, staring at him with his mouth agape for just a second before nodding, "yes father." He hurried off down the corridor towards his room.

"Goodnight Kyoya," Yoshio sighed, putting his hands in his pockets and shambling towards his own room. He wondered if it was the being gay or the liking Tamaki that Kyoya thought he wouldn't approve of, both of those thoughts made Yoshio uneasy. He'd scared his child into fearing his opinions that much, he's definitely been doing something wrong, he has to fix that.

[sugar-petals]

Can u introduce yuzuru to us the caro way?👀

so you want to know about the one and only. ♡😌

yuzuru hanyū (25) of sendai, japan: the most beautiful ice prince with a heart of gold.

….an artist clearly not of this world, he’s been sent to us from another realm. 19 world records, two olympics won, dubbed the greatest figure skater of all time. and the most precious bean on top of that.

but let’s start from the beginning, shall we ♥︎

so, want to spot yuzu on the ice? use this checklist. slender silhouette, an even slimmer waist, feather-like outfits (he sketches those himself; the fandom lovingly calls him swanyu), soft blushy face. he has great androgyny.

outside of performances, you see him either with a deer’s gaze or the brightest, biggest eye smile. also, he’s usually found sitting with his wife: 

which is the ice 😄 these two are together forever. you can discern yuzu from a mile away by how he treats his working ground. 

there is a purity to him. you’d not guess that this is one of the most ardent athletes if you didn’t see what’s around his neck after competitions. the guy’s cuteness is as compelling as his skating technique.

look for it: yuzu’s face is super suave and rosy up close, even after his most energetic performances. some men are handsome, others pretty, he is both. 

even acoustically, he’s hard to miss. applause is all around, and he’s highly expressive. if you see a crying young man getting the high score, that’s yuzuru hanyu. you’ve not seen more beautiful happy tears.

and score reactions, anyway:

so, aye loves, the rumors are true. a cutie-pie off the ice, animated, a real unabashed meme — yuzu is easy-going, talkative. cheery, cheeky, one of a kind. his facial expressions are a league of their own.

if you thought this is the sort of guy who watches cat videos, you are correct 😄

yuz-uwu hanyu, everybody:

his undoubtedly feline behaviour is often unexpected, it stands out with its adorableness, too. a sweetheart par excellence. 

and, how else could it be: vice versa, the big beast on the rink. he’s cutesy, dorky, very well-spoken in daily life, but when it comes to skating, his seriousness escalates. you blink once and suddenly hanyu is a bedazzling, strutting lion :’D his performances stun with confident elegance.

he becomes full of ardor, drama, and focus. you’d never suspect so much fire burns in him. a showman and ambition icon, hands down. 

his skating is dynamic, perfected, and emotional. if you want to see art and the extra mile, tune in when hanyu competes.

the downside is; more light, more shadow. it leaves him crawling on the ice afterwards. yuzu performs so hard, it’s worrying.

he delivers it all. you won’t believe it:

this guy is an asthmatic.

the symptoms aren’t as bad as they used to be, but there are still regular attacks. he said that he’ll never take it as an excuse and often recalls how he started skating because of it. he’s a badass, extremely inspiring. yuzuru defies all limits, including gravity. his jumps have legendary status. 

off the rink, you guessed it: he turns into a wholly different person. 

it all dissolves completely when he’s dorking around again. 

don’t let it deceive you, he’s the no other option than first place type. he could not be any more decorated with titles, he achieved the grand slam in all competitions as of 2020. and still, king of sportsmanship hanyu is respectful and smiley towards all colleagues and never lets anyone feel left out. especially when it comes to his juniors (e.g. yuma kagiyama, 16, below) which says a lot about him.

he bows in every direction before an audience, too. lower than a 90° angle, even. this is more polite than any existing formality in japan.

talk about audience: i introduced fellow japanese skater shoma uno last week, who’s more uncomfortable with social contact and aggression. yuzu, extrovert he is: the exact opposite. he withers away with no people and competition. he’s befriended rivals, had crises over not having someone who could challenge him. when a competitor retires, he’s the one crying in their arms (e.g. with team mate and bff javier fernandez from spain below).

beside his competitive spirit and princely wow factor, hanyu is popular for his winnie pooh tissue box that he caresses, squeezes, and carries everywhere. he loves good luck charms & rituals, pooh is the most important one.

fans throw pooh plushies on the ice after his performances because of it. since it’s gotten so intense, yuzu recently started cleaning them up himself on top of the flower girls for the upcoming skater who could get delayed otherwise. (more about what happens with the piles of plushies later.)

so, the burning question is. 

what made yuzuru hanyu emerge so outstanding an entertainer? how does someone causing so much uproar become like that? it’s not just what kind of appearance he was given, although he really looks his part to a T. you don’t have to be an insider to see it right away.

like literally to a fault. and you can tell the way his blades sound on the ice is different. it’s soft even if he does the most hardcore quadruple jumps. i think it’s because his drive to do this is a higher one, hanyu has an altered relationship with the ice. where his devotion comes from has a more severe reason so, massive trigger warning. 

this is no exaggeration: yuzuru is considered a hero to the japanese. a survivor of the earthquake 2011, he narrowly escaped the collapsing rink in his hometown on that very day. he’s often talked about how the ice shattered underneath his feet and it was the moment that defined his life forever. he could have been dead by the age of 16. his motivation has been set ever since. this man is compelled by something bigger, that’s why you hear it and you feel it. he wants to skate not just for himself but others and seize every day. 

much of his copious charity work — that’s where all the pooh plushies go — went to mend the consequences of the tsunami ever since, he’s looked upon as a great hope in japan. the minister gave him the people’s honor award in 2018. 

now you know why yuzuru has such a fanbase and treats the ice as sacred, you see it in every gesture. his manners are without a single flaw, he helps staff repair the ice after performances. 

you might think it’s odd, but he honors the ground. he’s invested in the integrity of it. that’s why he’s the best skater. it’s gratitude and the will to live fully.

he hates to fall on the ice, he hates to damage it. alongside his feathery weight, that’s why the sound he makes while gliding along is so tender. 

i think that’s also why hanyu’s signature element is the ina bauer. it doesn’t rely on brutal force, instead this element slides across the rink like a swan. yeah, oh my god.

it’s his most well-known dramatic move. the way he surrenders into it. 

hanyu’s back arch and perfect split allow him to do elements no other male skaters can. his biellmann spin, for instance. i know, it’s ridiculous.

and those are just two elements of dozens and dozens. hanyu is a kinetic wizard. i highly rec this record-breaking delivery of his olympic program. in front of his home crowd! he’s just… mind-boggling. i live for his smiles here.

exceptional skater, exceptional mentor: it’s time we look at another puzzle piece that made yuzu the way he is. the masterful brian orser is hanyu’s beloved coach. missing gold by just one mistake at the olympics 1988, brian is now committed to give others what he couldn’t have— successfully so.

orser took the ice prince to gold twice, this hasn’t happened in 66 years. brian is the nicest and most supportive pooh carrier and yuzu’s utmost rock. hanyu’s talent rests safely in these hands.

he gets strict about punctuality lmao! but other than that, his guidance is gentle. canadian he is, brian’s courteousness mixes well with yuzu’s politeness. their bond is strong. as. hell. 

brian picked up yuzu from rock bottom several times. most fateful being hanyu’s accident with a fellow skater during competition warm-ups nov 2014. they collided at a high speed, it was unspeakably nasty. yuzu got knocked out for half a minute and had grave breathing problems but still decided to skate on with what later turned out as an almost-concussion. brian was the most worried ice dad in the world that day.

yuzu cried and crouched and bled like mad and my heart has been broken ever since. i hope he never suffers like that again. promise me you don’t search up the video, it’s a harrowing watch like a stab to the chest. sadly enough, hanyu’s body has still been a notorious wreck, esp. ankle issues regularly give him a hard time 😔

it hurts like a bitch with every jump landing but he takes meds and still manages to win, god knows how. sometimes even with crutches on the podium. at his worst, he’s still the best, it’s a tragedy.

he’s been recovering, or always is, but he pushes himself through injuries. his ambition and perfectionism are boundless. the cause is more important to him than his well-being. this is not an easy guy to stan once you see how he sacrifices and self-destructs. so, it’s good someone protects him. 

mostly from himself because nobody has profoundly surpassed hanyu. he has let himself no choice than to contest himself. not even health, only age can stop yuzu. i think that brian understands this ‘curse of a genius’ effect. his mere presence can make hanyu say these rare words:

his two other coaches contribute to that. tracy wilson (left) has proven to understand his playful side the best while ghislain briand (right) helps yuzuru deal with his fears. so you got 3 people taking care of the golden boy. brian once said: “he is very sheltered” and you can see it’s true.

yuzu eased into learning english and communicates well with his coaches. like with everything, he studies hard and often forces himself to speak during interviews to practice. his skills are astounding. his speaking voice is also very soothing, very amicably low and high alike. yuzu is highly intelligent. he always says something eloquent and interesting.

now, privately, hanyu is very much like you’d expect someone so devoted to skating would be like. he doesn’t go out, has no social media, can’t eat nor sleep very well. no cameras allowed during practice. it figures he is attached to winnie pooh, think about it. in the cartoon, pooh is someone who sleeps, eats, and engages with friends plenty. 

these are the things hanyu can’t do, doesn’t have time/energy/incentive for. he is barred from balance in life but can at least admire this little carefree plushie for it. especially because pooh represents eating lots while yuzuru doesn’t have a good relationship with food (he says it doesn’t go well with jumps etc.), hanyu lives vicariously through him. 

what’s more, you have to see how he throws himself onto others and never wants to let go, yuzuru is extremely cuddly. 

to the degree that mere social customs can’t meet how much he really needs. so, what else can he resort to, he loves mascots and plushies. it’s how the tale goes in japan generally, tough work ethic, high responsibility, high pressure, so people turn to cute fluffy things.

he always fondles pooh’s head, even pretends he’s come to life so he has someone to snuggle with. i think that his isolated lifestyle doesn’t help. so, he gets his affection at least there, you can see how happy it makes him. and again: he does this all for charity.

that’s why fellow skaters are so important to hanyu. it really brings out his social spirit and comforts him best, it’s so wholesome. i’ve not seen someone react so relieved to being embraced, like he’s not been touched for months. skating this, skating that. at the end of the day, hanyu wants love.

as he once said, what motivates him is to express himself in the first place. hanyu is a romantic. it’s written all over him. it reflects in his music choices, his elegant motion, how he designs his outfits:

… and how thoughtfully he talks about marriage. he has big plans for starting a family and coaching after he retires. i won’t be the only one squeezing lucky charm pooh in my imagination so it turns out well for him. please make this heart of gold heal and see all his wishes come true ♡🐻

[springday-aus]

Figure Skater!AU with Jimin

moodboard link

Group: BTS 

Member: Park Jimin 

Genre: fluff, romance 

Type: Bulletpoint AU 

Word Count: approx. 2.1k 

I think Jimin would make a fantastic ice skater

like Olympic gold kind of ice skater

have you seen this man’s form when he’s dancing? now just imagine that with skates

even tho homeboy is a lil clumsy

(*cue the compilation of him falling off chairs on his own*)

but yeah, he’s an ice skater and he’s beautiful—thank you for coming to my ted talk

just kidding

kind of

so Jimin started young

his dad signed him up for dance classes originally

and Jimin loved it

but then Jimin went ice skating

he struggled at first, but after a couple of tries, he got the hang of it and he fell in love with it gradually

and it was history from there

it was like a slow burn love rather than instant and that’s what makes him so committed

Jimin still does dance every once in a while, but he really committed himself to ice skating and got really good

he entered an amateur ice skating contest and actually won (to the much of his shock)

and then homeboy kept winning and winning and next thing you know

he’s in the top ten ranking for ice skating in Korea and that meant Olympics and well

while he hasn’t won like gold or anything

he’s been super close to it and that proves how good he is tho

these competitions are basically him dancing on ice

it’s such a wild card because he has so much range

one time he did classical music and incorporated elements of ballet

another time he did a Big Bang song and everyone was not prepared

he’s absolutely eating these performances up and still managing to feed it to ice skating fanatics

speaking of which, he’s pretty well known in the ice skating world

especially since he basically captures everyone with his performances

and his face

but also his butt

it’s everything

everyone loves jimin

does Jimin know it?

there are times he uses it (like getting Yoongi to buy him snacks)  

and other times, he’s 1000000% oblivious to it

you know how people throw winnie the pooh bears at Yuzuru Hanyu?

anything that looks remotely cute is thrown at Jimin

so you can just…. imagine

he’s gotten so many of those gigantic stuffed dogs since people say he resembles a puppy

but he started getting thrown otter plushies

which he didn’t think was a thinguntil a bunch of people started throwing for him and now he gets an obscure amount of otter plushies when his performances are done

because lbr, Jimin is super affectionate, loves his family and is super cute

otter = Jimin

speaking of performances tho, the bts boys always try to make his competitions

they’re super supportive as always

Seokjin always brings snacks and Namjoon always brings flowers

Hoseok cheers the loudest (obviously) and waves a lot of flags like some goddamned color guard

and Taehyung and Jungkook bring signs that are supposed to be supportive… but then like

it’ll say shit like “Korea’s Thighs! PARK JIMIN”

Yoongi: “guys, it’s supposed to be Korea’s pride……”

Jungkook: “well, it’s already made” :)

Taehyung: :)

anyways

they’re like the most attractive group of people in one spot, so even if you only came there for Jimin, you’ll get like six more attractive pieces of eye candy to look at

(which is probably why Jimin’s crowds are noticeably bigger)

there was this one time tho that this one dude was competing, saw Seokjin and almost tripped

I mean who wouldn’t

but Jimin had to deal with Seokjin’s ego for the next week and it was a pain in the ass

speaking of pain in the ass, Jimin spends a ton of time to practice at the ice rink

he’s basically a perfectionist when it comes to his performances and he ends up spending all day there

there’s usually his manager, his trainer, and one of his friends

they all come in rounds to make sure he isn’t going insane

this is actually how you meet him 

you happened to be there one day to ice skate with some of your friends

only, here’s the catch

you cannot ice skate for shit and you are very aware of it

it took a couple of bribes of free food and hot cocoa that led you out of the house and into the skates

realistically speaking you could’ve stood on the side, but they were like come onnnnn

and, like an idiot, you let them peer pressure you into getting into the rink

and now you’re grasping on the rail for dear life and your friends are all making fun of you and recording it on their phone bc ✨memories✨ or some other crap

well, not all of them

two of them are skating next to you to help hold you up and convince you to let go of the rail

and this is where things kind of go awry

basically, let’s just say that your friends got a little distracted by some of Jimin’s friends (i.e. Jungkook and Taehyung) who were visiting him

they were on the rails, watching and supporting Jimin  

looking handsome and shit

ofc your friends dropped you—they were distracted

lbr, you would have been distracted too but you couldn’t be

because when they let go of you….

you fell flat on your face

like flat flat on the ice and a part of your soul died

you kind of got stuck and struggled getting up, especially since you kept falling back down on the skates

and then another pair of skates appeared and a hand reached out to you—aligning with your vision

Jimin: “do you need some help?”

You: “yes please”

he manages to get you up and you manage to stabilize yourself as he holds you up with both hands

while you’re trying to balance yourself, he chuckles to himself at the sight

you’re basically clinging onto him at this point but he doesn’t really mind

you’re cute

You: “I’m so sorry, this was not my idea”

Jimin: “first time skating?”

You: “um, actually, no”

You: “this is like my third time”

You: “I’m just a klutz and my friends are assholes”

Jimin: “oh?”

You: “not like that, but also like that”

he spends a bit more time skating with you to help you out for a bit

next thing you know, you’re spending another hour with him

laughing

chatting

learning more about one another

as you held onto his hands and skated around with him

it’s a fun

he’s basically done practicing and, even afterwards, you two got some hot cocoa from the stand

(along with his number)

it was a super cute lowkey first date

as you two texted and got to know each other a bit more, he invited you to another rink where he practices

when you walked in, no one else was present—it was just him, on the ice, in the middle of a routine

you quietly get closer, admiring the gratefulness that is displayed until you’re at the rails

when he’s finished, you applaud

indirectly scaring him, causing him to break his form and practically fall onto the ice

You: “oh my god!”

you run over to him, checking if he’s okay

You: “I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry”

Jimin: “it’s okay, I didn’t know you got here”

You: “yo, that was really good tho—you should do this as a job or something”

Jimin: “..... this is my job tho?”

Jimin: “I’m an Olympic ice skater”

You: w h a t

you two spend a bit more time in the rink, especially since he’s preparing for the Olympics once more

so you’re like friends, but like there’s something more (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

speaking of friends, you’ve met some of his

wild times

especially since Taehyung tried to show up Jimin on the skates and then falls on his face

Namjoon was self-monologuing as per usual

Seokjin was admiring his reflection on the ice, but still making as many dad jokes as possible

meanwhile Hoseok was trying to maintain balance but Yoongi was trying to trip him

Jimin: “I’m so sorry”

You: “why? this is hilarious”

they all know what’s going on tho, especially since all of them have met you at least once

*cut to Jungkook making fun of Jimin at some point*

things don’t really change until he has his first performance and you’re in the crowd (sitting with the boys obviously)

(for which you got a lot of stares for)

you cheered for him really loud before and after his performance

and you came with a cute sign

(“KOREA’S ICE PRINCE PARK JIMIN”)

and it’s bigger than Taehyung and Jungkook’s embarrassing one

it wasn’t until the scores were released and Jimin’s adrenaline rush came through

with all the congratulatory remarks and celebratory mood, he was in the locker rooms to get ready for the party his family was setting up at home

his coach let you him since he knew no one else was present

you lightly knock on the doorway to let him know of your presence

*unfortunately* he’s already clothed by the time you’re there

You: “congratulations, I knew you would get first place”

You: “I got you flowers, but I didn’t know if you were allergic, so I got plastic ones”

Jimin gives you a charming smile, with his eyes turning into crescents

Jimin: “thanks, you can set them down if you would like”

you seat yourself on a nearby bench as he brushes through his hair and puts on his shoes and whatnot

Jimin: “are you coming to the party?”

You: “I don’t know if I’m invited”

Jimin: “well, I’m inviting you—if you would like to go”

You: “like………. together?”

Jimin: “yeah, you can be my date?”

you both show up to the party with your hands held together

:)

your dates are mainly at the ice rink for the rest of the season

whether you’re skating with him or just watching him practice and reminding him to take breaks, both mental and physical

you’ve improved your ice skating abilities btw

considering your boyfriend is a professional ice skater

you always make time to go to his performances and you absolutely refuse to miss a single one even if you’ve seen it a thousand times when he practices

there’s just so much gracefulness and agility and Jimin’s so beautiful to watch

and he’s so glad to have found someone who supports his dream as much as he chases after it

also you asked him to dance to Twice once as a joke and he actually did it for a performance so

now you have many requests and ideas

Jungkook: “tell him to do One of a Kind by GD”

You: “why don’t you tell him?”

Jungkook: “because he doesn’t listen to me”

Yoongi: “I think he would know if it was your idea even if (Y/N) is the one who told him to do it”

Jimin: “I’m not doing GD”

Jungkook: “wow okay”

anyways

after the season is done, your dates have more range

he’s a big softie and it’s 1000% applied to relationships

so that means lots of romantic walks, coffee dates, picnics

of course lots of restaurant dates when he’s off his diet

in which you always pinch his cheeks bc he looks so cute with puffy cheeks

but there’s some dates where you two just stay in and watch some movies but you get a bit distracted with his plump lips and nice torso………. however you want to take that information

since he’s so used to the cold at the ice skating rink, it also means he loves to just pile blankets onto the two of you

but also he needs cuddles and it gets super heated real quick

and I mean like heated heated because of his body heat and the giant blankets

altho, it could also be heated

you two built a blanket fort once and it was knocked down real quick - in what ways? I’ll leave that to your imagination

oh and since you’re openly so supportive for him

he tries to reciprocate it

even if it’s the most mundane things

he wanted to make a sign for you once

Jimin: “do you have bigger banner paper?”

You: “why?”

Jimin: “I can’t fit in THE LOVE OF MY LIFE: HONEY SUGAR BABY CUTIEPIE”

Jimin: ………… “now that I’ve said it outloud, I think I’ll just save it for my phone or something”

You: “yeah, let’s never say that again”

you repeated it back to him once and you don’t think you’ve ever seen him this flushed since that one fan tried to propose to him

he’s a shy baby

kind of

because he needs a lot of attention and a lot of praise

but if you do it in front of other people, he will combust

anyways we’re all simps for Jimin and it’s great we’re having fun

[pellicano-sanguino]

Now that Kurenai Yuzuru's taidan is drawing closer, I wanted to write something short about some of the roles she's done that I have fond memories of.

These are mostly from Reon's era, since most of my Hoshigumi shows are from that time. I need to see more shows from Kurenai's own top star run.

Mercutio from Romeo&Juliette 2010

This was the first zuka show I saw, and still my favourite show to this day. I could go into all the details about how I love this musical, but now I'm just going to mention the casting. It was perfect. Everyone got a role that fit their acting style perfectly. Kurenai was a natural Mercutio, the best one I've ever seen. She nailed Merkku's immaturity, playfulness and – most importantly in my opinion – his recklessness.

Memorable scenes are Mercutio's song number when he tempts his Montague buddies to go with him to crash the Capulet's party, him and the boys bullying Nurse, confronting Romeo after hearing the news about his wedding (I was quite shocked to see Mercutio threaten Romeo with honor violence, claiming he's going to slit his throat if he won't give up Juliette) and the fight scene followed by Mercutio's death including a final song of ”goodbye friends and PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!”

I admit, I don't usually care for it when zuka gives a dying character one final song that they sing in weak, slow voice, milking the tragedy for all the drama its worth. It often fails to be sad and just feels cheesy and soap operaish. But I found the song of dying Mercutio very touching, when I saw the scene for the first time I cried real tears. Despite the language barrier, Kurenai managed to reach to me with her voice and her acting and make me shed tears for Mercutio's death.

Sid from Officer and Gentleman

Officer and Gentleman isn't the kind of movie I'd thought would get a zuka adaptation and yet it exists. Zuka is very clearly targeted for women and this movie is more for the male audience. I know it has a romance and is therefore regarded as a love story but in my opinion this flick is more like a coming-of-age story about the character growth the male lead goes through (also, it oozes toxic masculinity, a thing more common in films for men). Anyway, the zuka version is actually a pretty good show. Ouki Kaname totally steals every scene she's in. But today I'm here to talk about Kurenai.

Kurenai is probably best known for her talent in comedy. Sometimes I've heard people say that's the only kind of shows she should do and that always made me sad, because Kurenai isn't a one trick pony trapped to do only one character type. I have been very impressed at her talent in playing sensitive men. Many otokoyaku roles rely on strong and cool male image, but Kurenai sometimes gets roles that let her show emotions, the men she plays are allowed to be vulnerable. Sid is one of these. Sid is young and a bit naive and makes stupid decisions, but when he thinks he's done a mistake, he is ready to take responsibility of it. The scene where he goes to propose Lynette breaks my heart every time. That look on his face when he finds out he's been lied to, it just hits me right in the feels. There is something so naturally charming and lovable in Kurenai that seeing her characters get hurt makes me feel awful. Like, no, don't do this to her!

Karenin from Anna Karenina

I have not read this book, but its one of my mother's favourites, so we watched this show together and she pointed me all the things that she thought zuka had adapted well and the parts that they had changed. She was especially impressed with Kurenai's Karenin. According to my mother, the character of Karenin is often done quite poorly in other adaptations of the book, he is often portrayed as just a onesided, simple man who's a little dumb and doesn't have much depth of character. Much like Sid, Kurenai's Karenin is allowed to show his emotions and not be just a boring, stoic figure who reacts to his wife's affair with mild disinterest. There is kindness in Karenin, it's not always easy to see, but it's there. He lost his own parents and a brother that was dear to him, and because he remembers how horrible it is to be alone and lose your family, he adopts Anna's and Vronsky's child, not wanting her to be left alone.

Antonio from Tale of Coimbra

I have opinions concerning this show. Namely, I think it misses a golden opportunity to put the zuka trope of reunion of lovers in the afterlife to proper use. Big part of the Coimbra legend are the coffins of Pedro and Inez being placed so that when they rise in Doomsday, the first thing they see is each others' faces. And zuka just had to go and twist the story so that Inez doesn't die (and they don't even get a happy ending despite that! Poor Pedro, he just can't win.). Also, very, very disappointed at the lack of Corpse Queen and tearing out assassin-Makaze's heart with a line ”You broke my heart, therefore you have none!”

Ahem. Sorry about the rant. Anyway, Kurenai is in this musical. He plays a guy named Antonio, who is...   umm... I think a pirate or a robber or something along those lines. The group of robbers/pirates gets made into scapegoats for Inez's murder, and Pedro, Pimenta, assassin-Makaze and some soldiers mercilessly slaughter them all. Kurenai's role gets very little stage time, but I wanted to mention this role, because I was very impressed with her stage swordplay skills. I don't know if I should credit the director for this, or if Kurenai did some research of her own, but her legwork is strong and sometimes I can even identify the poses she makes as part of real swordplay moves.

Warrior seeking to fight with Reon, from Takarazuka Floral Dance Scrolls

This is my favourite nihonmono revue. The music, the dancing and the costumes are all great. In one of the numbers Kurenai plays a warrior who doesn't get along with another warrior, played by Reon. I don't know what their beef is about, Kurenai just hates Reon's guts and sends ninjas to ambush him when he's spending time flirting with local ladies. Reon being Reon, he defeats all the ninjas and makes a daring escape with courtesan-Nene. They are heading towards a river, intending to ride a boat to safety, but by the riverside Kurenai confronts them. Holding his sword he opens his arms like inviting Reon for a hug. Come at me bro! And so they fight, doing the samurai slash thing where time freezes after they've struck at each other and then the one who lost slowly falls. The one who falls is Kurenai, and Reon and Nene proceed to their romantic boatride.

This number has left an impression on me, because I think the nihonmono look suits Kurenai really well. She made a very handsome and cool-looking warrior.

Shibata Rihito from Mei-chan's Butler

Takarazuka and shoujo manga have walked hand in hand since the days of BeruBara Boom and even before, inspiring each other. Every now and then zuka does a show based on a manga. This one, unfortunately, is based on a manga I have never read and therefore I had no idea what was going on during most of this musical. But I still found it rather entertaining (the prop work sure was something different, with weird video projections, shadow theater and parachuting puppets). I admit, the many colourful side characters steal the show from Kurenai quite often, being wilder and weirder than her character is. I will have to give special mention to Makaze's evil butler, I love it when Makaze plays villains. But at the end, this is Kurenai's show. She was a very dashing butler.  

Memorable scenes include a weird, artsy, dream-like interpretive dance scene where the shadow theater is put to good use for * symbolism *.

 Because I haven't read the manga, I have no idea what is going on here. My bet is on drugs.

Also among the memorable scenes is the fencing. I still think Kurenai is pretty good with a sword.

I need to come up with name for this trope, where the opponents lock their swords for a while to glare at each other and chat.

Bourguignon from Second Fortuitous Meeting

Many zuka comedies are wasted on me because so many of the jokes are language based and I still don't understand much Japanese. But this one I liked very much. Admittedly, I got to read a translation once, so this time I got the jokes, but even ignoring the spoken jokes, it's just a really fun show. Every character was fantastic, Kurenai's role as a manservant forced to fake being his own master included. Her talent in comedy is very strong, she masters small things like the tone of her voice, the expressions of her face and simple bodylanguage and makes her character absolutely hilarious. I have noticed  that one character pair zuka shows tend to have is pairing a cool and serious master with a sassy, loud, no-filter-between-brains-and-mouth servant, who works as a comedic relief softening the seriousness of their master. In a show like Second Fortuitous Meeting, where everyone is sassy, loud and has no filter between brains and mouth, Kurenai needs to tone her comedy up quite a bit so that Bourguignon will appear even funnier than his master.

Most memorable scene is Bourguignon sitting down in protest like a misbehaving infant when Dorante demands they leave.

This show got a sequel. It was just as fun as the first one, even though this time I had no translation and so had very little clue what was going on. Something involving a pumpkin thief.

Beniko and Reon's father from REON!!

Otokoyaku in drag for comedy reasons is quite a common thing in zuka, and usually I find it as amusing as real men in drag (in other words, not very). But I adore Beniko. The reason why her comedy works is that the joke isn't just putting otokoyaku in drag, Beniko is a carefully designed sketch character. Her costume, her curls that she constantly keeps shoving back over her shoulders, the way she speaks (this has to be some sort of dialect, I swear), she is just incredibly funny. I don't think I can properly explain why I find her so amusing, after all I don't even understand what she says. There's just something about Beniko that always makes me smile.

There was also a number where Reon sang about her family. Makaze and Kurenai played her parents. Makaze made a very charming Japanese beauty in her apron (I usually don't like it when they make her wear dresses, but here she looked so natural it suited her well). She had to bend her knees a little to appear shorter than Kurenai. Kurenai as Reon's father was weird looking, with thick eyebrows that made him look like a comic character. But he was a very sweet father, eagerly making faces and shaking a rattle at baby Reon, and smiling even when the fighting kids accidentally poured a tea kettle on him. I've always felt that Makaze and Kurenai had great chemistry together and seeing them play a married couple was adorable.

Gemini from Etoile de Takarazuka

Again, putting otokoyaku in drag isn't fun if you don't give her character. Well, in this revue Kurenai had to put her skills to the test by switching between two characters several times during the same number. The split-personality Gemini suffered from manic-depressive behavious. 

The female side was happy and giddy and optimistic (”Everybody loves me, I'm so pretty, and so witty, I'm so gay!”)

...and the male half was gloomy and depressed and had no self-esteem (”Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms...”). 

I have to respect her for managing these quick switches between otokoyaku and onnayaku, cheerful and gloomy, the changing between characters was done smoothly.

Also, I want that dress...   suit...   costume...   thing...   I want that dresssuitcostumething. I would wear it to every dance ball ever.

Frederic de Marmont from Napoleon

This show had a ton of characters, many of them quite colourful ones, and unfortunately Marmont was often left as only the observer of things happening around him (well, the story is being told by him, so it kinda fits). Nevertheless I think Kurenai was very handsome in the uniform, and I think Marmont got some important scenes. He knew Napoleon from the military school and there's a song number where he voices concern for his friend's endless thirst for more victories. In the end, he is the one who decides to surrender Paris, understanding that it's madness to keep fighting and lose more lives when losing the battle can no longer be avoided.

The part I remember Kurenai most in this show is actually from the minirevue. She dances a rather romantic dance with Makaze. I will say it again, these two had great chemistry together.

Philippe from Sun King

I know there are probably only like a handful of fans who like this show besides me, but I loved it. I've always been a sucker for French imported musicals in zuka. This show is another example of good casting, everyone gets a character that no one else would have done as well as they have. Kurenai, being the best there is at comedy, gets the comedic relief character Philippe the gay-tailed pheasant, who also shows to the audience how the royals and nobles lived in a fantasy bubble completely separated from real life. She gets three songs and she sings them well. I haven't mentioned it before now, but I really like Kurenai's voice. It's a very recognisable, charming, unique voice. I also have to show respect at how easily and naturally she wears the gaudiest costumes. This show has some really ridiculous costume designs for the nobles to show how separate they are from common folks, but Kurenai wears hers with pride. I can almost picture her looking at a costume desing and being like ”Wow that is the ugliest thing I've ever seen, when can I try it on?”

Percy Blakeney from Scarlet Pimpernel

When Reon and Nene graduated, my star also left Hoshigumi and I followed her to a new home troupe, so I haven't seen that many Hoshigumi shows after Reon's era. But when I saw that they were going to make Scarlett Pimpernel, I had to get it. I had seen Kurenai perform Percy as a shinko role and I thought she was brilliant even then.

Of course I was going to use screenshots of the fencing scene. What else did you expect?

Once when I was sick and couldn't even read books, just rest, I borrowed some audio books from the library. This is how I was introduced to Scarlet Pimpernel. I liked the audio book a lot, especially the menacing, raspy voice they gave to Chauvelin. I was delighted to discover one of the first stories to use the idea of a masked hero. Men who like Batman are not allowed to make fun of me for liking Scarlet Pimpernel.

Scarlet Pimpernel is such an entertaining story and Percy is such a charming hero, saving innocents and having fun while doing it. I like Kiriya Hiromu's Percy a lot too, but Kurenai's is my favourite. She really gets into the character and makes a very lovely Percy. Having to wear disguises in this show, she once again shows her ability to fit into all deliciously awful outfits (like the suits they wear to the party held by the prince of Wales). But even out of disguises, I've got to admit Percy's got style. I also obviously adored the sword dance in the mini revue. Kurenai's Percy brings a smile to my face whenever he's on screen. This is probably the role I will remember her most from.

I will miss Kurenai terribly. Whatever she decides to do after leaving Takarazuka, I wish her good luck and happiness as thanks for all the times she brought me lauhter, tears and joy.

[teddystrap]

[神なる君と] Spirit duo - Rei

なんかちょっとラストスパートな感じですけど…

Rei is the friendly spirit that Sakuya and co. met when they were investigating rumours about hauntings in the old school building. He’s arguably the most ‘mysterious’ character, since nothing is known about his former life, and I was super curious what his deal is. Not to mention he’s the final obstacle standing between me and Mikoto!! Ψ(￣∀￣)Ψケケケ

Truth be told he’s not really my type, though - since I’m not 15 anymore. I mean he’s a ghost but looks more like a forest elf / Mori Boy circa. 2001, and his voice sounds like it’s breaking. Compared to the other characters also he has a personality (or lack thereof) that is blander than konnyaku. In fact I found myself opening all the Yuzuru options in his common route first before going back and redoing them for Rei, because senpai saranghae I only wanna be wit u <3... 

Aaanyway.

-Mizuniwa Rei-

Rei-kun’s common route was actually quite revealing and interesting - in two of his ema, Mikoto actually asked to tag along, so it seemed like there might be some important information there idk. 

In his second ema, Mikoto tells Sakuya that she has the power to push people who are on the brink between Life and Death into one world or another, depending on what kind of guidance she gives.

Which in retrospect seemed like heavy foreshadowing for what’s about to come.

Fuu-san’s backstory was also revealed here:

Around 10 years ago, Fuu-san and his bff, a boy named Kawashina Yuuya, were students at Mikagurayama High School. One day they found a hidden basement storage room in the old school building, and turned it into their hang-out spot.

The basement used to be a bomb shelter, and had some books left over on occult spells and curses, that were used during the war to protect the townspeople. Fuu-san found a book with a spell to summon the powers of the Great Demon, and wanted to try it out of fun/boredom, but Yuuya was against it.

So Fuu-san did it by himself anyway. He got the sealed cursed box from the magical cave and took it back to the basement to perform the spell. Halfway through he passed out... and when he came to, he realised that Yuuya saved him by transferring the spell onto himself. 

Yuuya never woke up again, despite a lot of medical attention and whatnot. After half a year, Fuu-san decided to quit school and skip town to learn exorcism so that he can save his friend. But when he finally returned a few years later, Yuuya had already died...

Fuu-san lived with guilt all these years and thought that Yuuya died hating him. But when he went down to the basement with Sakuya to liberate his spirit, Yuuya’s spirit communicated through Sakuya that he doesn’t ever regret saving Fuu-san, and he hopes Fuu-san can stop blaming himself and go forward in life, smiling... By this point I was pretty much crying like a baby... ｡･ﾟ･(ﾉД｀)･ﾟ･｡

Oh how I wish there was a Su-sa-no-o in my neighbourhood, with a sexy store-owner like Fuu-san... 

But we’re not here to court Fuu-san (I wish we could, mang. I wish we could), so let’s get back to Rei. In his route Sakuya tries to help him to find out about his family and his past. She asks Aki for help ofc, and Aki reports back that she couldn’t find anyone matching Rei’s description in the database of deaths, nor the missing persons list...

And the mystery deepens dun-dun-DUN. This would’ve made for an interesting story development,... except the writers totally abandon it and instead opt for Rei and Sakuya frolicking around in the forest, true to his Mori Boy style (wholesomely tho, since they are both underage XD). Then Rei realises that he’s not long for this world, and he tries to put some distance between them - but Sakuya eventually convinces him that they should spend his last remaining time on earth together and make lots of beautiful (wholesome) memories.

There were a lot of group events in his route, which was nice since I got to see Yuzuru-senpai mucho. (Although he’s not an option here obvsly T_T)

You know I will happily choke on a fish bone for you, senpai <3.

So hoshimatsuri night, Rei undergoes the ceremony to pass into the other world. Sakuya stays home, because she’s not strong enough to go and say goodbye to him. Is this like deja vu from the Yorihito/Nisei story arc or what?? ...After that, Sakuya goes to the old school building one day after school, and finds a note from Rei. SURPRISE - he’s still here.

...

It turns out that Sakuya’s, uhh, clinginess is keeping him from successfully departing. At this rate he’s going to grow weaker and weaker and become trapped in the interstitial space between two worlds - forever. They keep communicating through notes, and through voice chatting over radio, while Sakuya grows enough balls to finally let him go.

Eventually she does. Because let’s face it - Otomate can’t afford to pay their seiyuu to carry on a story for like two gajillion chapters.

In his final moment of departure, he appears to Sakuya in a dream, but they can’t hear each other’s voice. Just as Sakuya is freaking out, he pulls her in and kisses her, then disappears into the ether. (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*)♡

...I guess Yuzuru and Rei’s routes don’t work the same way as Narumi and Yakumo’s, bc you don’t get the alternative ending by choosing the ‘wrong’ option for the last couple of choices. I wasn’t strong enough for senpai’s bad end, but I was actually pretty curious about Rei’s, although all the same I wasn’t able to unlock it. Either way I hope he didn’t get stuck in between worlds forever, poor kid has been through enough.

1. Good end: Fast forward 10 years, Sakuya becomes a teacher at Mikagurayama High School, just as Rei had hoped. She still goes to the garden every day to take care of Rei’s flowers. The old school building is about to be torn down because it’s too old and might be a safety hazard. She’s on her way there one last time... when she gets a call from Aki, who finally found out what happened with Rei’s past-life investigation 10 years ago. Unfortunately Aki trips on something and the line cuts off before we get to hear it. _(:3」∠)_

So Sakuya is there happily watering her flowers, when guess who appears - ahem *Rei*, now all grown up. He tells her that this time he’s not a spirit anymore... and the scene just ends there. I’ve seen a lot of abrupt endings but this has gotta take the cake. Although I’ll admit adult Rei is kinda sorta smoking hot, so less talk more making out!

[Thoughts] What can I say? This route really didn’t explain as much as I thought it would, although there were some good bits. For one, the Fuu-san backstory really got to me. Fuu-san was always the side character that I was most curious about, since he seems kind of... shady, and like he might’ve had a colourful past. His arc really delivered, and it’s my favourite out of all the four side stories, although I loved them all in their own way.

I was expecting to find out about Rei’s past here, but I guess the writers are saving it for Mikoto’s route / wrap-up, which almost certainly means there’s going to be a surprise revelation. So I am looking forward to that and I hope they don’t fuck it up.

The route itself actually felt like it was mostly stuff that belongs in a fandisk, rather than an individual character route. All the group hangouts, and scenarios that reveal idiosyncrasies about the other characters (e.g. everyone’s drawings in the Fuu-san arc. I finally got to see Yuzuru-senpai’s kawaii creations! :3).

Senpai’s art totally unleashes his inner otome...

As expected, Rei failed to give me any doki-doki feels... except at the end, where we saw grown-up Rei and got to hear Iguchi Yuuichi’s normal voice for like 2 seconds. (I wish this game had a fandisk bc I *definitely* need more of that!!) From the other character routes I got the sense that he’s an iyashi-kei type of guy, and he’s probably the most consistent out of all of them, because he continues being selfless and caring about Sakuya before himself throughout - e.g. helping her to find her future path despite not having one himself. 

Still I gotta admit, when he confessed that he liked Sakuya, I did a silent fist-pump in the air, because FINALLY here’s a guy who said it first. I’m so tired of always having to make the first move >;(

Also the thing that Narumi said really touched me here: that Rei would rather choose a lonely existence as a spirit trapped between two worlds for the rest of eternity, than force Sakuya to let him go. Even when he was weakening, he never said anything to Sakuya. In a way he was perhaps the most adult-like one out of all of them. Admittedly I didn’t like Sakuya very much in this route. She seemed very self-absorbed and immature, refusing to face the truth. But eventually Narumi kind of slapped some sense into her (figuratively ofc, I mean Narumi would never actually slap her XD) and she did choose to do the right thing.

...I guess Narumi is determined to be the guy that has a crush on her and ‘saves her’ one way or another in every route. Kudos to him but he’s still only, like, my third or fourth favourite lols.

Lastly, I felt that this route was actually the most poetic + metaphorical one so far. (Maybe the other ones were, too, and I just wasn’t paying attention?) ...The metaphor of flowers bearing seeds that blossom into new flowers, bearing witness to their relationship and carrying on their legacy. When they first met the flowers were newly planted, and when they said goodbye they were just about to wither. 

Also Sakuya and Rei always met after class at sunset, the time between day and night - like the space between Life and Death. Idk mang but that’s, like, really beautiful or sumshit.

But this is the most poetic thing of them all~!

[flyswhumpcenter]

Unspoken Words [Whumptober 2019 - Day 19: Broken Voice]

Summary: Five friends, their leader's missing voice, and the little signs that they all look out for each other. 

Fandom: Ensemble Stars! Relationship: Trickstar boys and gal being friends

Wordcount: 1.146 words

Content Warnings: None.

Notes: Before I ramble: we're in search for characters for an Enstars Maze Runner AU RP server! Specifically, we're searching for people who could roleplay as Keito, Yuzuru and Eichi. If you're interested, or know someone who could be, please consider the offer or share it with your Enstars friendos! Here's the link to the doc explaining everything, in case you're interested!

"Hokuto lives a day like Celty Stardust: the fic" or something. Private jokes about animes I haven't really watched but can reference some stuff from aside, welcome back to "I show my personal biases and write about friendships I like: the chaotic prompt fill depository"! I really didn't see myself writing for "Asphyxiation", so I made something fluffy and kinda whumpy instead. What can I say, I really wanted to write some Trickstar goodness! I originally planned on making Hokke much more miserable with his little voice-stealing mysterious ailment, but decided against it anyway for some light-hearted banter. What can I say, a boy likes his sons and daughter being kind to each other. Not in the mood for angst, you could say, lol

Event hosted by @whumptober2019

AO3 version available here.

---------

“You can’t speak?!”

Akehoshi seemed surprised beyond his own mind as his eyes blinked furiously right in front of his nose. What, had it never happened to him? All things considered, Akehoshi seemed like the type of idiot who could never catch a cold, so that made sense, he supposed… Would have been less of a hassle if he wasn’t screaming that in the middle of the school, prompting the entire class to turn to their discussion. Nonetheless, he nodded as a reply, looking away. Something about being a leader…

 “Ah, man, that sucks! I hope you’ll feel better soon, Hidaka. Sounds rough.”

Yuuki’s comment was far more considerate, his gaze full of concern and empathy. Well, not that he liked getting pitied, but the circumstances were playing against it. It didn’t help that both Akehoshi and he were making sad faces. He typed his reply on his phone.

Sorry for this, guys.

“No issue there, don’t apologize! We can still practice our choreographies, right?”

I suppose so.

“W-well, that’s only if you’re feeling well enough to it! You look kinda pale…”

“Ah, that’s right, you’re shinier than usual, Hokke!” (What did that mean? He didn’t know the connotation this carried, that was for sure).

I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.

“If you ever feel not up to it, please tell us, okay?”

Sure.

 “Good morning guys!” Isara suddenly came into the picture, wide smile on this face, walking up to them from the neighbour room. By his side was their producer, just as smiling, waving her hand in their direction.

“Good morning!” Yuuki replied, perking up.

“Hi Producer, hi Sally! No student council work today?”

Stuck with his silence, all Hokuto could to was wave with his hand. God, that was so embarrassing…

“For once, I don’t! Not gonna lie, it does feel kinda weird…”

“That’s great!”

 Isara chuckled.

“How are you, everyone?”

“I’m doing great!”

“Same here!”

Silence unfolded. Silence he should have been filling, but…

“What about you, Hokuto? You’re strangely silent today.”

He was about to type a reply on his phone yet again, but Akehoshi did the job instead.

“Ah, right! Hokke can’t speak today!”

Isara’s face instantly showed the colour of surprise, head bolting from the redhead to their leader.

“Wait, your voice’s broken or something?”

He nodded. No point bringing out his phone for that.

“I see. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask us, we’ll help you no issue. Right guys?”

The three others surrounding them nodded along. This was going to be tough, but with companions like them, it sounded less painful than it had when he had just discovered in what state his throat was.

  Hokuto had a few observations to make about being the leader of an idol unit without a voice. None of them were any positive.

Singing was quite obviously out of the question, or else he’d have coughed until the end of times, so he instead playback-sang his own voice. That was pathetic at best, but it got the job done and the point across: the point was their stage occupation and choreography.

Breathing through his mouth itched. His throat was already sore from whatever he was infected with, the situation didn’t make it much better. The more they went, the more he pretended to sing, the more it hurt, to the point he hesitated between coughing every second or stopping breathing altogether. He picked the first, in the end.

Even moving around was awkward. He felt sluggish and, while that wasn’t linked to having lost his voice, it was somewhat related anyway. The day wasn’t good, but repeating the idea in his head over and over again as he tried recovering his breath wasn’t going to make things much better by the end of it.

 “Guys, please stop for a moment,” Anzu interjected in the middle of their session, clapping her hands together. They stopped immediately.

“What’s wrong, Producer?” Akehoshi asked.

“Can I see you for a moment, Hokuto?” This felt like a sword of Damocles, about to fall upon him, but he nodded after finishing his coughing fit. “Subaru, Makoto, Mao, feel free to continue!”

“Roger,” Isara said as the three went back to their task.

Well, there was no point in disobeying her, so he did as he was asked.

 They went to the next room, the music entirely muted by the walls, as she invited him to sit down at a table and poured him a cup of tea. Weird time to invite him to do so, but she must have known what she was doing, so whatever. Still, he had questions popping in his mind, so he got his phone out of his pocket and started typing again. He cleared his throat to catch her attention (she was focused on a couple of papers, and he immediately regretted asking his throat to put itself on fire again).

Why have you brought me here?

“Ah, right,” she giggled, “I forgot to explain myself, haven’t I?”

I don’t quite understand.

“You seemed tired, so I figured I’d help in some way. What about stopping for today?”

That sounds unreasonable.

“Hokuto… I don’t think your illness is going to go away this easily if you don’t rest a little.”

And was she wrong? Not really.

I’m still their leader.

“I know that, but I’m you guys’ producer. I can handle it just fine. Plus, it’s not like I’m asking you to go away, right? I’m just asking you to watch, I suppose…”

 During a moment of silence, he figured he may as well eye the tea and discover why he had gotten served this in particular.

“That’s for your throat. Mao gave me a recipe to try, I hope it’ll work.”

Typical Isara, he figured. This man had tricks upon tricks down his sleeves. Still, he brought the cup to his mouth: it’d have been a shame to let this go to waste. It was just as sweet as he’d have expected a beverage filled to the core with honey to be like, but this was no problem as it was, in fact, a solution to the issue at hand.

Thank you.

“It’s nothing, really. Now, what about we go back to watch them?”

Let’s do that.

 The moment they went back to their practice room was when he also realized the four of them had planned this all along. That was made obvious by the winks they exchanged, between themselves, between them and Anzu; and he tried, deep down, to find something to say against it, to get their routine working, to feel betrayed and fooled; yet nothing came to his mind but light-hearted gratitude. He, once again, typed his words on his phone’s keyboard.

Thank you, everyone.

 For someone whose day was supposed to be filled with misery and silence, Hokuto sure was a happy and vocal fellow.

[yuzuviere]

ACI - Day 1 & 2

STORYTIME!! 

This is the G.O.A.T banner I was talking about in an earlier post haha

Longpost ahead - I’m so sorry if you’re seeing this through mobile rip

So anyway I didn’t get lost!! Almost missed the train going to the actual city but I made itttt. And security didn’t care about your camera yay

DAY 1 - Practice run

There were a TON of Japanese fans in the crowd and they’re surprised that I’m an actual Canadian but I support Yuzuru the most instead of the other Canadian reps in the competition. Some of them spoke to me in Japanese thinking that I must be one if I’m asian and a Yuzu fan ahah, it was pretty amusing. (One of them said that when someone asked them why they’re here in Canada, mentioning ‘Hanyu Yuzuru’ didn’t ring a bell for the person so they didn’t think he’s well known here)

Also in regards to the Japanese lady who asked about the meaning of goat, she asked me who else is here (who isn’t from Japan) to support Yuzu. I pointed to the entire row of girls I was sat beside at the time (all Twitter stan account owners and none from Japan) and she looked sooo pleased it was so cute ahhh

Yuzu came barreling inside the rink for practice in his teeny tiny glory lmao

And then aND THEN. It was my first time tryina take photos/videos of this guy live ok. He was too fast. I had to adjust my camera settings, the zoom, and my goddamn wiggle room so I can keep up with skatey mcflash over here

He did his infamous 3A right before mine eyes and lemme tell you IT WAS GINORMOUS?? It was a straight up attack and I didn’t get to take a photo cause shook’d

Also seeing the 4Lo live was such an experience I died twice

Here’s a bonus floofzuru to make up for lack of jump photos 

He keeps talking to himself it’s hilarious

Do y’all remember the extra way he removed his gloves that one time? Well he was gonna do it again but stopped at the last second (WHY)

When I left that night my uber driver was confused why a figure skating comp has so many people attending and I told him that some of the big names in the sport are here

“Like who?”

“Do you know the olympic champion?”

“Which one?”

“Of the past two years”

“Ohhhh Yu- something?”

“Yuzuru”

“Yeah! Yeah, that guy’s pretty sick”

Shout out to you Mr. Uber Driver 

Day 2 - Short program

So. People were lined up as early as 2am. I woke up at 5:30 to see a friend post a tweet of her already lined up and around 70 people were there as well

I went back to sleep and didn’t leave my place until 11:30 ahahahahhahahahaHA #fakestan 

But through some kind of sorcery I found a seat in the third row in perfect view of the kiss and cry 

Here’s Mr. Hanyu’s signature pre-comp murder face 

I filmed the costume reveal cause I knew it’d be iconique

Buddy here tryina look chill when we all know he likes it when his fans scream after his costume reveals

Y’all know how much I love this costume by now. If you don’t well, I love it

I LOVE IT SO MUCH

SOOOO MUCH

SOFT. SO SOF-

and then he performed and I didn’t take any pics during cause there’s no way I could’ve picked anything up while that was happening right before my face 

I love this program. The music was so, so beautiful and the choreo was very nice. The triple axel OMYGODD (should’ve been all 5s and that’s the tea) I thought he was going to do his combo on the last half but he didn’t? Not sure if on purpose or just pancake things. I don’t have the words to describe his stsq. Just know that people screamed when he started it and I almost did too but I’m silent when I’m super shook, that’s how effective that stsq is 

THE LAYBACK SPIN

Say all you want but I don’t care it was beautiful, if I wasn’t shaking I would’ve taken a photo

The kuyashi face at his score

He asked for everyone to quiet down right after, since Chadwick was already on the ice about to perform  

Anyway I can’t wait to die again tomorrow

[momorabu]

10.02.2018

Ensemble Stars! Event Story - Kiseki★Blitzkrieg Autumn Live / Revenge Match (Part 2)

Was supposed to finish this last week, but I left yet another last part not translated and only managed to finish it just now. This event story was seriously quite difficult to write for me D: But nevertheless, hope those who are reading would be able to enjoy it! The first part of the event story can be found here.

Anyway as always, the summary of the story can be found below. Translation may not be 100% accurate due to my poor Japanese skills~

Dangerous Poison / 劇毒: Chapter 4 - 5

Back at Shuuetsu Academy, Ibara was trying to strike up a conversation with Subaru, but he was zoning off. He recovered later on and apologised for to Ibara, referring to him as “Bari”. This gets Ibara’s interest and since Subaru’s name also had a “Ba” sound to it, Ibara wanted to call him “Bari” too, remarking that their names were similar. In fact, Ibara wanted them to have the same nickname so that they would be even closer than they are now. However, Subaru replied that other than their names, they were not alike at all in any other way. 

Noticing that Subaru seems to be in a low mood, Ibara guessed that perhaps he was tired and not used to staying at the hotel which was changed suddenly yesterday, and suggested him to stay at the hotel prepared by  Shuuetsu Academy. Ibara knew that the hotel that the Trickstar members were staying now was planned by Fushimi, and remarked that from his point of view, it was a hotel that was not fit for them. In fact, there were many problems which Ibara could find with the hotel - with the main problem being unable to keep track of the Trickstar members’ movements in the hotel since there aren’t any surveillance cameras over there. (I bet that was the reason Eichi arranged them to stay somewhere else rather than the hotel Shuuetsu Academy had prepared, in order for the members to be spared from being stalked ^^;)

Subaru realised that Ibara had referred to Fushimi by his name “Yuzuru”, and asked him whether they’re close to each other (since they seem to be on a “first name calling” level of relationship?) Ibara gave a weak smile and answered that it was an embarrassing fact for him but both him and Fushimi were being trained in the same facility back in the past and they ended up in a good relationship with each other as the two of them were the only two guys who were around the same age as each other. (Are you really sure it’s a good relationship?) He guessed that it seems that he was disliked by Fushimi now though, and expressed that he felt loneliness about it. Subaru was sceptical as he remarked that even though Fushimi has a poison tongue at times, he had never look down on other people and deemed them as useless. However, he also realised that he doesn’t know much about Fushimi anyway, as Fine was their greatest rival just a while back then. Subaru had felt that them being able to win Fine was a miracle itself, with the support of many people behind them. But Ibara claimed that it was due to their talents and skills, and remarked that he hoped that they have more confidence in themselves. 

Ibara sighed as he thought to himself that his “plan” was hard to carry on, the Trickstar members were smarter than he thought, and it was hard to find an opening for him to “attack”, But he smiled to himself and thought that the battle was still going on anyway even if there are any actions on Trickstar’s end, and by the time they realised anything they’ll be too shock to move. 

Even though Ibara was being friendly and smiling to Subaru, Subaru noticed that his eyes aren’t smiling and could feel that he was observing him and reading his reactions behind the friendly mask. He felt disgusted by Ibara’s actions, comparing it to his body being licked all over by a tongue. (Yucks! D:) Subaru felt a feeling of unease around Ibara and decided to escape from the current situation. He told Ibara that he had to get to his next lessons and thus can’t stay to chat with him now. Thankfully Ibara backed off, though he reminded Subaru that they would meet again on the lesson after the next and that they could chat again at that time. After the two had gone their separate ways, Ibara decided to check on Mao’s whereabouts since he had not turned up for lessons today. He had hoped that Mao had lost his confidence and escaped from Trickstar after listening to what Nagisa had said the day before, but it was still unclear now so Ibara would want to take note of it. His plan was to take control of the movements of the Trickstar’s members and made adjustments accordingly in order to let the “poison” seeped into them within this period. Ibara had known that Trickstar was really strong when the members were united together, and thus this was why he had them separated for their lessons. However, it would be hard to keep track of each and every members when they all separated. Ibara felt that it was different this time than other times where he had easily won in ease, and thus felt a feeling of unease about it.

On the other hand, Subaru had received a message from Mao in the meantime. He had not had the chance to talk with Mao at all today, as the latter was still fast asleep in the morning, and when Ibara had specially come to pick them up, Subaru and the others followed him to school after that. He had noticed that Mao seems to be in a low mood and thus felt that it was probably a good time to chat with him now that the latter had contacted him. However, what Mao had sent was a series of stamps, but Subaru soon realised that the stamps represented a certain word. It was Trickstar’s way of sending the secret code to each other, and Subaru felt a whim of nostalgia about it. (They had used stamps to talk to each other as a form of playing back then while they were in the midst of waiting during their work to pass the time ^^)

Ibara had noticed the messages of stamps as well (does Ibara had access to their chatroom? OAO” I think Mao must have guessed that so he’s using a secret code to send his messages...), and realised that this must be some sort of a secret code as he found the alignment of stamps unnatural. However, it was hard for him to break the code as it seems that the secret code had a special rule to read it, he sighed and thought that it seems that Fushimi might have advised Trickstar to be on a guard against Adam, making Ibara’s plan on trying to read Trickstar’s messages a failure. But Ibara smiled and thought to himself that he still has other tricks up his sleeves, and what Trickstar was doing now was just delaying and buying more time for themselves. He was confident of the talent and power differences between Adam and Trickstar, that even if he doesn’t have to use such tricks, Adam would be able to crush Trickstar just based on their skills alone. (Then just don’t use such underhand tricks then, Ibara...? =w=“) However, Ibara still felt unrest somehow and decided to head to where Nagisa was instead. (Just my personal thoughts, but if Ibara kept feeling unrest and uneasy, suspecting things here and there, he’s going to have a hard time sleeping ^^;)

Dangerous Poison / 劇毒: Chapter 5 - 6

Subaru entered the practice room for the next lesson, where Hokuto was also taking the same lesson as him. Hokuto was mad that Subaru was later, but Subaru explained that that was because he was caught in a conversation with Ibara, but mentioned that he felt uncomfortable in the middle of it and escaped from it. Hokuto was surprised and remarked that it was rare to see that Subaru to say that he was “disgusted” by someone, seeing that he usually likes to be around people. Subaru claimed that he does like people very much, but when facing Adams, Subaru felt that he can’t really understand them and thus felt that it was hard to be friends with them... Hokuto thought that since the two units would be enemies during SS, there isn’t really a need for them to be friends anyway ^^;

Hokuto mentioned about the messages which he had received from Mao (I guess it was a shared chatroom between the Trickstar members?) and asked Subaru whether understood what it was about, as he could not understand even though he had already deciphered the secret code. Subaru was impressed by Hokuto’s speed since he had not even managed to read half of the message ^^;

(New fact about Hokuto: He was good with word games since he was already used to solving word puzzles/crossword puzzles ^^ Subaru told him that he had noticed him solving crossword puzzles during lessons, and asked him to concentrate more in class XD)

Hokuto remarked that it seems that all of them had not been feeling at ease the moment they reached Shuuetsu Academy, but somehow talking to Subaru made Hokuto feel that they’re back to “normal” again. Subaru was worried about Mao, who was heavily affected by Nagisa’s words, and also Makoto, who seems to be thinking seriously about joining the agency. He mentioned that Makoto had been collecting a lot of information in the meantime and reading them seriously. 

Hokuto remarked that since Makoto had belonged to a model agency in the past, he probably doesn’t resent joining an agency as much as the rest of them, as the rest of them might feel that joining an agency will cause their current position to have a major change overall. He admitted that he could see the attraction point of the agency, mentioning that even if he doesn’t collect all sort of information, from an outsider he could see that there’s a lot of merit points in joining an agency, whereas the demerit points were hardly visible. But Hokuto worried that the agency might request for Trickstar to disband as the criteria to join. Even though it’s only been a few days since they’ve come to Shuuetsu Academy, Hokuto could already see the quality differences between the two schools. He could feel that Shuuetsu Academy could make him reach greater heights and helped him improve on his weakness. The agency would provide him clothes, food and accommodation, and even helped him to pick good jobs for him that are beneficial to him, so Hokuto could just concentrate to shine his best being an idol. He felt that they shouldn’t be feeling displeased with the agency, as even their schedules would be managed in a way that their lessons won’t clash with the work provided by the agency. There also won’t be any more battle, and each of them could just concentrate on improving themselves. The whole environment here felt very different from Yumenosaki Gakuen, which was a society that’s all about competing with one another. 

But Hokuto also knew that things were peaceful for them because they were being treated as the “elite students” currently. If they were not elite students, in order to become one, they would have to battle on with blood and tears to get into that position. The reason why they were excluded and only be given the benefits was that they had fought hard and won during the DDD, leading them to high ratings in being an idol, and thus receiving the treatment and privilege of being an elite student. In the end, Hokuto felt that there aren’t any much differences when they compared the two schools since their aim as a student in the end was to fight on and to improve as an idol, whether or not they’re in Shuuetsu Academy or Yumenosaki Gakuen. Hokuto was confused and admitted that he doesn’t know what he should do now truthfully... (Aww... Hokuto...)

Hokuto wondered that them, being a nobody initially, should be someone who’s of the right to appear at SS if they continued saying at Yumenosaki Gakuen. He guessed that Makoto must be thinking of the same things currently, remarking that even though Makoto was usually seen being clumsy and silly, he was actually the calmest and logical among them. If Makoto was indeed considering to join an agency, Hokuto felt that he should accept it. He asked Subaru what he had felt about it, should they remain like how they were like now? Or should Trickstar change themselves? 

Subaru answered that he can’t understand matters that were too difficult for him, and felt that it was hard to comment on this issue since this was down to each and everyone’s individual choice in the end. But for Subaru, he had viewed joining the agency as a demerit, as if they’ve joined an agency, all of their work would be decided by the agency, and thus that would mean that there’s nothing to be done by ”me” anymore. Subaru guessed that the agency would have a producer and manager prepared for them, similar to how it was now, which Subaru had realised that the lesson today seems to be prepared by the agency saying that this was a special programme for the “elite students” and it seems that “I” had not participated in the planning at all. He felt that if Trickstar were to belong to an agency, there won’t be a place for “me” anymore after that. Subaru felt that perhaps it was just him viewing things emotionally. but he had felt that it was the five of us together that had made Trickstar won in the DDD and being able to cause a new revolution in this miracle. He doesn’t like the fact that it won’t be the five of us together in the future, even though he knew that “I” wasn’t their specialised producer either. 

Even if “I” wasn’t able to be Trickstar’s producer anymore, Subaru knew that since “I” had also helped in producing the other units, there would definitely be other places that need “me” and thus “I” could always find a place elsewhere in the school. “I’m” also a beginner in being a producer actually, and perhaps it would be better to have a producer from the agency since the other party might be better than “me”, but Subaru felt that it was because all five of us now that made up the Trickstar today. If anyone was missing, he felt that they definitely won’t be able to reach such a position currently. This is why Subaru doesn’t like the feeling of going separate ways or abandoning “me” when there’s no need for “me” to be around them anymore. Subaru mentioned that it was impossible for “me” to walk on by himself, which Hokuto dissed him that he’s behaving like a baby. 

But Hokuto replied that he does understand what Subaru was trying to express. He remarked that this matter is not something they could easily make a decision on since ultimately it would affect whether they would be able to “win” and attain happiness like what they’ve dreamed to as an idol. This was the time where they would have to pull up their act quickly to improve themselves, but unexpectedly they were given such a choice by the other party. Hokuto deduced that this was actually the “plan” of Adam, to make them lose sight on what they should work on since, before this, they were set on their main goal on defeating the student council and causing a revolution to the school, and were progressing well with it. He smiled and mentioned that he should have expected this, as he had already heard about such tactics from Hiyori back during the Summer Live event. Now that they’ve seen through the plan and tricks of their rivals, Hokuto felt that they should strike back, in order to attain their revenge and prevent from being completely defeated again just like the last time.

This was probably why Mao and “I” had some plan up our sleeves, and Hokuto guessed that what Mao had sent earlier was probably talking about this matter.  Hokuto declared that they shall fight on this time, and return the “favour” to the other party on how it feels to be “eaten” when being attacked suddenly. This was why my proposal was named as “Revenge” this time, and Hokuto felt that they should turn around and surprise the other party who was confident that they would definitely win this time round instead. 

Isolation / 隔絕: Chapter 1 

In the meanwhile, Makoto had headed towards the venue where the autumn live event was to be held, surprising Fushimi who was there helping out since he had thought that Makoto should be having lessons at Shuuetsu Academy at this time. Makoto explained that he was on his lunch break, and thus wanted to take this opportunity to take a look at the venue before the day of the actual event. He was amazed by how posh and huge the stage had looked and was impressed on how much Cosmic Production had invested for this event. Fushimi explained that unlike Yumenosaki Gakuen - who was mostly invested by only Eichi’s family, Shuuetsu Academy and other affiliated academies were sponsored by a lot of other wealthy families and corporations instead. It was hard for one family/corporation to fight against a combination of different wealthy companies in terms of wealth and sponsorship, as even though Fushimi’s master - Himemiya was really rich as well, that family’s wealth can’t be compared to Eichi’s family either. Fushimi compared Shuuetsu Academy as a monster which is made up of many together and when one of its head was cut off, another would soon grow back, whereas for Yumenosaki Gakuen, if anyone targets Eichi and killed him off in a sneak attack, it would cause a huge damage to the school. 

Makoto felt that Fushimi’s comparison is scary, remarking that Fushimi shouldn’t be talking about his unit leader being killed even if it was meant to be a joke ^^; Fushimi apologised for talking about it, though he admitted that he won’t mind that Eichi met with some terrible situations, as long as he doesn’t die from it OWO” (Why does it sound like Fushimi isn’t that fond of Eichi that much? Why would you curse someone to have a bad situation fall on him? ^^:)

Fushimi excused himself, saying that he still has alot of work to do as a support staff, such as setting up the stage and cleaning up the venue. (He still calls Makoto with a “sama” behind, which Makoto said that he should refrain from calling him that as they’re of the same age anyway ^^; Fushimi apologised and explained that it had already become a habit for him since he was already drilled to behave in the form of how a butler should behave. Makoto noticed that Fushimi was in a really good mood as he headed off to work, and thought to himself that Fushimi really does seems to like cleaning very much ^^;

As the lunch break was about to end, Makoto realised that he should head back to Shuuetsu Academy. He had also received Mao’s messages from earlier and thus decided to comply with it. Makoto’s plan was to act like his usual self of being silly and clumsy while digging deeper regarding the situation which they were in currently. It was actually a “talent” of Makoto actually since even Subaru and the rest were suspecting that he was going to join an agency. (So I guessed Makoto was acting that he was interested to join when actually he just wanted to dig more information about the agency to see how it aids them? OAO” Makoto is actually learning to be a spy?!)

Just then, Makoto noticed Nagisa at the venue and wondered what he was doing here. He felt that Nagisa seems to be like a “monster”, by the manner of how he doesn’t even seem to take notice of the other staff who were working there, which was mainly made up of students who were not “elite students” in the school. Nagisa was looking around at the stage area and seems to have understood about something, remarking that Ibara had a bad personality XD (What?! Ibara... even your unit mate said you’re bad XDD) He continued on by saying that though it seems to be a good plan to kill while leaving them alive so as to give them a huge damage, he doesn’t like it since rather than stepping down on others, Nagisa preferred to get himself to higher heights instead. 

Makoto noticed that Nagisa was just mumbling to himself and wondered that he must really be a weird person. But Makoto had also felt that Nagisa seems to be feeling quite suffocated, and looking at him reminded Makoto of himself when he was a kids model back then. In the end, he decided to approach Nagisa to try to get some information from him. Even though Nagisa had said some very bad stuff about Mao, Makoto doesn’t feel that he was a bad person after all.

Nagisa explained that he was here and doesn’t have to head back to school as he had already reached his target of the day before lunch, and thus was allowed to spend the rest of the day as he pleases. Usually, he would be busy with work in the afternoon, now that they’re preparing for the Autumn Live event, their schedules were frozen and thus Nagisa was free in the afternoon. But in exchange, Hiyori and Jun would have to work even harder in their place ^^; (Poor Eve...) 

Nagisa praised Makoto and Trickstar for working hard but talked about how they won’t be able to change the fate even if they worked hard. Makoto was hesitant but ultimately asked Nagisa whether he had meant that Trickstar won’t be able to win Adam anyway. (Since it kind of has that meaning ^^:) Nagisa replied that he wasn’t talking about winning or losing, but he doesn’t know how to further explain what he was trying to express. Nagisa remarked that he actually envy Trickstar for still being to see their dreams. (Why it sounds like Nagisa had no dreams anymore TWT He sounded depressed to me again TWT *Pats Nagisa even though I don’t know you that well*)

Isolation / 隔絕: Chapter 2 - 3 

Back to Eve and the others who had since moved to the cafe for the discussion, Hiyori encouraged us to start eating... like a pig, to which Jun dissed him that Hiyori always said something that was additional and not needed XD Hiyori was pissed and scolded Jun for being noisy, and said that him saying such “additional stuff” was considered his charm point XD 

Hiyori mentioned that we’re lucky that the cafe we’re at now was operated by his family’s corporation, and he’s giving us a treat. Tsumugi remarked that there’s a similar outlet near Yumenosaki Gakuen too, as this cafe actually has a chain of shops all around the world~ Hiyori replied that the cafe near Yumenosaki Gakuen was actually the main outlet, whereas the cafe we’re at now was an outlet which was just opened recently, thanks to Eve being more active. 

Seeing that we’ve come specially to meet Eve, Hiyori guessed that we must be wanting to know about something that is not easily found on in the internet regarding Adams. He wondered how much he could talk about since even though he wanted us to understand more about Nagisa, but also knew that it would be bad if he shared anything that would be a disadvantage to Eden, and thus asked Jun to stop him if he’s going towards that area. Jun agreed, asking Hiyori whether he could pull the back of his head to stop talking, to which Hiyori replied that he wanted Jun to use a more peaceful way instead, scolding him that he’s not respecting his master ^^; 

Hiyori mentioned that he was a close friend of Nagisa for a long time, but he doesn’t know much about Ibara, referring him as “poisonous snake”. (For Hiyori, his relationship with Ibara was “just business” ^^;) He started to talk about Nagisa, though warning us not to reveal to the public what he had said. Though it wasn’t something that Hiyori had wanted to keep it a secret badly since it doesn’t affect their work if it was revealed, Hiyori remarked that it would reflect badly on him that he had revealed information on his own comrades to his rivals. (Hiyori was willing to talk to us regarding Nagisa on behalf of Tsumugi, who had taken good care of him and Nagisa when he was in Fine with them, and also believed that Tsumugi would not sell away the information of his friend that easily.)

Mao wondered whether him and “me” should leave since it seems that Hiyori wanted to tell Tsumugi about Nagisa alone, but Hiyori urged us to stay since he felt that it was something we should know seeing that we would be facing Adam later on. What he had said earlier on was just for show actually (which made me wonder why does he want to say it if he’s not really going to follow it in the end ^^;), explaining that Adam was very good at manipulating information so any rumours could be easily erased by them anyway. 

Hiyori started talking about Nagisa’s past. There used to be a really great figure on the dark side of the entertainment industry supporting it, and people referred to this person as the “Godfather”. Even though the person was seen as a god and had huge power in the industry, it was rumoured that he had also committed alot of crimes. The person had already passed away by now though even though he had lived for quite a long time, and when the police investigated about his death, they found a bishounen / a young guy being trapped and hidden secretly in the Godfather’s house. And this young guy was... Nagisa.

Nagisa was always kept in a beautiful room like a doll being displayed as decoration and had not received any official education at all. He was being treated as a valued treasure by the godfather, a decoration among many in his collection, and this was how Nagisa had lived his life until the day he was found. Hiyori commented that Nagisa was actually a pitiful child who had not known about love at all, since he was being collected as a piece of art, and not being treated as a human. 

As where Nagisa was found was considered under Hiyori’s family’s land (hmm? perhaps the godfather rented the land from them or what?), there was a period of time where his family took Nagisa under their care before plans were made for Nagisa in the future. Hiyori was proud to declare that it was him who had taught Nagisa gently, and had even thought him how to say “A I U E O” - the basic japanese vowels before learning other words. He remarked that he was free and didn’t have the restrictions at the time, unlike his elder brother who was already selected to take over the family’s business. 

Jun added that Hiyori was actually someone who would treasure what he had bought or picked up, as he now loves “Bloody Mary” to death. (The animal which they’ve picked up a while ago ^^;) Hiyori smiled and told Jun that he was also the one being picked up by him, and thus wanted Jun to be more thankful to him~

Continuing, Hiyori commented that there’s no question on why the entertainment industry was interested in Nagisa. He had a beautiful face since birth and also a really good sense of music. Even though Nagisa had not recieved any official education and thus started out way later than others, Hiyori noticed that he really likes learning, and managed to accumulate alot of knowledge and skills within a short time. Soon after, Nagisa’s relatives got in contact and retrieved him from Hiyori’s family, and thus the two ended up separated after that. At that time, Nagisa declared that he wanted to become an idol very strongly, which affected Hiyori and that ended up being his dream too. The two of them promised each other that they would meet again at the entertainment industry before parting away.

Hiyori met Nagisa once again when he enrolled at Yumenosaki Gakuen and felt that although Nagisa’s looks had changed since then, the inner core in him still remained the same. They sang and danced till the late night, and he was always laughing and smiling saying how glad he was at that time, but now... he’s in Adam, being managed and roped into the plans of the agency. The agency had absorbed in multiple schools and treated students who were not “elite students” as slaves, and thus Hiyori hoped to turn that situation around in the future. 

Hiyori won’t say that what he had done as Fine in the past and causing a revolution was the right thing to do, but he had felt that he was the main hero at that time and thought that Nagisa would still remember the same feeling too. The Nagisa at that time was passionate and was the Nagisa that Hiyori loves the most. (Suddenly there’s a confession here ^^;)

Hiyori deduced that it was the “poisonous snake” (Ibara) which had influenced Nagisa to become the way he was now. He wondered why Nagisa had not complained about him and followed Ibara’s instructions, but guessed that it maybe Nagisa’s personality since he was always an obedient child ever since from the past. He wondered whether Ibara had aimed to become the second “Godfather”, and Jun mentioned that after the Godfather passed away, the business that he had was disseminated to various people, and it was rumoured that one of the business was to be passed onto the Ibara. This was why Ibara had always shown his face around the agency and the affiliated schools and organizations. Hiyori showed a grim face as he deduced that Ibara must have wanted to fulfil his goal and as part of his tricks and plans, he's using Nagisa and also Hiyori and Jun as part of “Eden” as a tool.

Tsumugi voiced out that from what he had known about Nagisa, though he was abit weird to Tsumugi, he was a still a normal and good guy. (Though Hiyori dissed Tsumugi that he had a large range for his definition of “normal” and “good” XD Tsumugi seems to easily view people as normal and good guy I guess XD)

He mentioned that Nagisa doesn’t seem to talk about himself much, and seems to treat himself as being “nothing” and thus Tsumugi felt that as long as he talked to him normally in class, they’re able to get along. But unfortunately, Nagisa was always really harsh to other normal people and doesn’t treat them as humans, to which Hiyori mentioned that even though Nagisa was viewed as a genius since he had a really good memory actually, his personality was very underdeveloped. This was due to him being isolated from the outside world when he was young when at that time it was the most important time to develop a child’s personality, and thus this was why Nagisa doesn’t have “himself” in him. (In other words, it seems that Nagisa had not developed a personality of himself and thus appeared to be quite “empty” to others? OWO)

Hiyori turned to Mao and informed him that what Trickstar would be battling against would be a guy like Nagisa. He wished that they would be able to find that Nagisa that was deep inside himself, by singing and dancing to attract him out to the outside world. As Hiyori was Nagisa’ friend and even family member in the past, he found it hard to hurt Nagisa or even using a forcing method to force “him” out, but he believed that Trickstar would be able to do it, since anybody would get interested in Trickstar in the end and would peek out their head to take a look at them. This was why Hiyori had specially decided to tell them about Nagisa’s past even though Eve was really busy at this moment. He told them that he would support them and wished them best of luck~ (Turns out that Hiyori was actually a pretty good guy afterall~ Though I think I probably said this comment already during the Summer Live event XD)

He also warned Mao that if Trickstar felt that it was impossible to win Nagisa / Adam, they should take this chance and escape when they can, since he doesn’t want them to be “eaten up by the darkness”. 

Isolation / 隔絕: Chapter 4 - 5

Back to Subaru and Hokuto in the practice room, they’ve received yet another message from Mao. As Subaru isn’t really good at deciphering it, he requested Hokuto to assist him instead whereas he would help to further explain what the message was about. But Hokuto did not reply to him, which Subaru remarked that he felt lonely by the lack of reaction ^^;

Hokuto finally did reply to Subaru in the end, but rather than deciphering the message, he asked him to wait until he finished his meal and that it was rude to talk when he was eating. (Seems like Hokuto doesn’t like that his mother talking non-stop during meals, remarking that her saying that this would make the food even more delicious as a bad way of teaching instead ^^; He said that what his grandmother had said was correct - talking during meals is considered noisy and rude.)

When Hokuto was finally done with his lunch, he deciphered the message, saying that Mao had got in contact with “Eve” and had come to know alot of things from them during his investigations. He continued on that Mao would join Hokuto and Subaru to concentrate on practising for the time being, as it would arouse suspicions if they were to take other actions suddenly. In other words, they would try their best to follow accordingly to Shuuetsu Academy currently, since it was effective for them as they’ll get to learn alot and improve alot due to the high quality of the lessons provided. Subaru remarked that he doesn’t really feel that the lessons were that magical since he would rather everyone gathering and practising together than practising alone. Hokuto agreed that all of them would have practised together at one time, in preparation for the performance which they’re going to perform at the Autumn Live event. Even though they’ve already practised the song before heading to Shuuetsu Academy, there would be adjustments required after reviewing the number of guests appearing and the stage area, so it’s definitely better for them to go through another round of rehearsals. Subaru wondered whether it was actually Shuuetsu Academy to reduce the amount of time they could practise together by separating them and making each of them put their efforts on learning and practising alone by themselves. He felt that even if they improve their skills individually, without enough group practices together, they won’t be able to show their greatest strength together on the day of the event.

Hokuto agreed with Subaru, deducing that perhaps it was Adam’s plan to separate them and destroy their unity as a group, which disgusted Subaru that he dissed Ibara was just acting friendly on the surface to get close to them. He was pissed off and felt that Shuuetsu Academy was sly, and would rather face Eichi instead as he remarked that the latter was more manly in declaring on wanting to step on them face to face. (Eichi: Thanks for the compliment, Subaru~)

Hokuto commented that thanks to Mao and “me” who had seen through Adam’s plan, now what we could do was to pretend that we were not aware and continue to follow their plan to cheat them. However, once we found an opening, we would take the chance to “eat their throat”. Hokuto had thought through and said that actually they could always decide whether or not they want to belong to an agency officially after the Autumn Live event had ended anyway, so what they should do was to get back their footing, unite together to beat their rivals this time. (Go~! Trickstar~!)

Subaru felt that he was lucky to have been in the same room as Hokuto for practice this time since usually they would all be separated. The schedules for them were planned such that the lessons were long, and it was hard for them to get in contact with each other. Subaru guessed that to separate them was probably the basic plan that can be thought up by any of their rivals, as Trickstar’s charm point was their unity. He continued by listing out the good points of Shuuetsu Academy, their food was glorious and delicious, and even brought to them by other students in the school who were not “elite students”, remarking that it made him uncomfortable. But Hokuto commented that this won’t be a rare sight when they’ve become a celebrity since he had such experiences before when he was being brought to some grand places in the past by his parents for meals.

(Subaru commented that Hokuto referring to those grand shops as “shops which seems to be really great” as a “Hoke-mi” feeling to him, to which Hokuto asked him what does “Hoke-mi” mean, dissing him not to make up some new words about him ^^:)

Hokuto put away the utensils that he had used for lunch in a corner, wondering that perhaps the students who were not “elite students” would come and collect it later on. Subaru mentioned that those students were really being treated as a slave, and wondered why they could put up with it. He remarked that rather being respected by the students and treated as a fellow comrade of the school, he felt that they seem to be scared of him instead. This reminded him of how Hajime had appeared to him the first time he met him when he saw the other students and felt sad about it since it felt like the other party had seen him like a monster instead. (Aww... Subaru TWT I guess he must have remembered some sad times TWT I wonder what was the relationship like between him and Hajime in the past? Seems like Hajime was really afraid of him?)

Subaru continued on by saying that Yumenosaki Gakuen was weird too in the past, but now it had changed to a school where anyone could work hard and shine in their own way. Everyone would treat each other as a rival on the same level and could practise and compete against each other. Regardless whether they’re an upperclassman or a freshman, they could still laugh and sing together. Subaru preferred that much better even though he knew that perhaps others would felt that it was the norm for an idol to aim for the top while stepping on others below him. Hokuto remarked that since he had always looked up to his parents and always been in the loop of the industry since young, he had seen that the opening to the entertainment industry was indeed really small.

However, in the midst of their conversations, they could suddenly hear someone clapping their hands. Hokuto started panicking when he has seen who the people appearing before him were, and started saying gibberish language while Subaru asked him to calm down and speak normally. He told Subaru that he had finished the rest of the message and get to know that investigating about Adams was not the only reason why “I” had gone to Reimei Academy. My other goal was to get into contact with “someone” who was a special lecturer over there... which Hokuto now find it puzzling why were his parents here in Shuuetsu Academy?! (So Hokuto’s father and mother had finally appeared~! Too bad I don’t know how they look like nor there are any dialogues of them talking =3=“)

Subaru was all smiles as he realised that those people who had appeared before them were Hokuto’s parents. He told them that though he knew that they’ve taken care of his mother alot of times (probably during the time where Subaru’s father had passed away), he had not had the chance to meet either of them till now. Hokuto’s face was grim when he asked his parents why they were here, being mad that they had not even come to see him learning in school during his elementary school days when they were busy with work. 

(This is probably a Japanese culture where there are days that the teachers would request the family members, usually parents to come and see how their children are learning in school, as a way of supervising how the teachers are teaching and seeing how their children are coping in school I guess. Usually, most students’ parents would turn up on that day, if not their grandparents or siblings would instead. But I guess Hokuto must still be feeling hurt that their parents did not make an appearance at that time due to being preoccupied with work. It definitely doesn’t feel good if you’re the only one in whole class where no one comes and see you I guess ><”)

Hokuto’s parents hugged him tightly instead, apologising and telling him that it’s alright since they still love him very much. This made him flustered that he even started suspecting whether these people before him were really his parents XD (I bet he’s really not used to getting coddled on...? Or perhaps usually Hokuto doesn’t even have much of a chance to see his parents usually...) Subaru just laughed and remarked that it was rare to see Hokuto’s blushing~ (I agreed!)

Hokuto’s mum turned to hug Subaru passionately instead, which alarmed him as he commented that he felt weird being hugged by his friend’s mum right in front of that friend ^^; But he started smiling as he realised that Hokuto’s mum had the same scent as Hokuto’s. (Why does it sound kind of perverted? XD Subaru, why are you blushing? XDD)

Hokuto finally broke free and asked them once again what they were doing here, especially to his mum. He knew that his dad was a lecturer at Reimei Academy from Hiyori and thus guessed that he might have a reason for coming to Shuuetsu Academy since it was an affiliated school of Reimei Academy, but what about his mum...? Subaru found that Hokuto was speaking to his mum quite rudely since he was only calling her as “you” instead of “mama”. He lectured him that he was being an unfilial son and that his mum was showing a really lonely expression because of what he had said. Hokuto looked away as he dissed that his mum had not done anything in his life that made her a “mum” in his eyes. (Ouch... Hokuto is so cold and mean to his mum... Did he really dislike his mum that much? D:)

In the end, Hokuto asked his father to explain to him their motive in coming here once again, saying that he could at least believe his dad if he talked about it. Hokuto’s father explained that he had become a lecturer for all affiliated schools of Cosmic Production, which includes Reimei Academy and Shuuetsu Academy as well. He wondered why his father had suddenly made such a decision and was surprised that his dad had wanted to teach him in a gentle way at this time. The father who Hokuto knew was someone who would only teach someone if they could do things by themselves, and Hokuto always felt that he’s not as good as his dad. However, Hokuto turned his head away and replied to his father that he’s different from him and that he doesn’t want to be a replica of his father anyway, and thus felt that there was nothing to be taught to him.

Subaru showed a grim face seeing how Hokuto interacted with his parents and asked him to get along well with them ^^; He even apologised to Hokuto’s parents on his behalf, and ended up being hugged tightly by Hokuto’s dad, making him flustered once again as he remarked that he felt weird being hugged by someone who looked alike to Hokuto. (Maybe it made him feel that he was being hugged by Hokuto instead XD)

Hokuto’s father told Subaru that he looked alike to his father, which he wondered perhaps it was because they both had a similar hairstyle. He felt glad about this compliment though since this was proof that his father was still living in someone’s memory~ (Though... Hokuto’s parents still had not explained why they were here in the end ^^:)

Challenge / 会��: Chapter 1 - 3

After a week, it was finally the actual day of the Autumn Live event. Trickstar had managed to unite together in preparation for such a day, by even holding meetings in secret without meeting each other face to face ^^; Nevertheless, Subaru was glad to see everyone together again since they’ve been mainly moving separately in Shuuetsu Academy. He suggested everyone doing a cheer together to pump up our spirits together, even asking “me”, Fushimi and Tsumugi to join Trickstar together.

Fushimi agreed but told us that he would have head back to do some last adjustments for the stage, cleaning as well as taking charge of the purchases after that. Tsumugi remarked that them being the support staff actually had alot of responsibility and stuff to do even until the day of the event. The event made it that it seems like it’s not just the idols on stage who were battling, but all of the support staff as well. Tsumugi had hoped that he had the chance to watch Trickstar’s performance peacefully later on, but it seems that this proved to be very difficult. 

Fushimi was right as he expected that Shuuetsu Academy’s plan in defeating Trickstar was thought up by Ibara, saying that he was impressed that Ibara still paid attention to like he had always been. He felt that it was lucky that the Trickstar members were not normal people and were able to grasp hold of the situation really fast since in the past Adam’s enemies were people who were being defeated terribly without knowing what situation they’ve landed themselves into. 

Hokuto said that in order to prevent the same incident as Summer Live Event from happening again, they’ve worked very hard for this event. Even though it would become a hard battle for Trickstar since it would not just be competing against Adam, but also other idols from Shuuetsu Academy and other affiliated schools, Subaru can’t help to get excited. Even Hokuto could feel himself getting burned up with passion, as he remarked that indeed a live performance was the best~ Subaru dissed him that he’s just happy that his father and mother had looked over him and will be coming to visit him to watch his performance. Hokuto doesn’t seem pleased that his parents were coming though, saying that in the end, they did not explain why they were here and was just teaching him instead after that. He asked “me” whether “I” knew anything about it, seeing that “I” was the person who had approached them and requested them to come here. (If the reason “I” had called Hokuto’s parents to come here was just to piss off Hokuto, he would get angry with me XD)

Hokuto remarked that he felt really tired worrying whether his parents would suddenly appear in the midst of this practice, to which Subaru added on that Hokuto had worked even harder than usual in order to show his best side whenever his parents come and visit him XD (I guess Hokuto still wants to impress his parents in the end ^^) 

Hokuto decided to change the topic and asked Subaru whether he was not pleased about their performance outfit this time as it wasn't designed by “me”. Subaru remarked that this outfit seems more similar to “Fine’s” style since there were shiny golden accessories on their shoulders which is exactly like what is on Fine’s unit outfit. Fushimi smiled and explained that since Fine had performed all over the country and world, it had already set an identity that Fine is the face f Yumenosaki Gakuen. Therefore, the school decided to introduce such an outfit in support of the unit that represents the school. (But it still seems that they’re support Fine than any other unit though ^^;) However, Fushimi informed them that “I” had added some small details to the outfit design, in order to let it have some of “my style” which Subaru had always wanted. Hokuto wondered why the outfits were ordered to be made by a 3rd party when “I” could have made it for them, seeing that “I” likes sewing outfits. Tsumugi explained that all the outfit designs, as well as the stage designs, had to align with the style set by the agency, and were thus prepared by them. “I” had alot of other matters that “I” had to handle with being the producer, but still decided to help up with the small details of the outfits regardless ^^

Subaru approached “me” and assured “me” that they’re going to win and wished that “I” would sit at the VIP seat nearest to them to watch their performance as per usual. But Hokuto reminded him that there’s no winning or losing at Autumn Live event actually since they were just going to perform at the stage area where they’re assigned to for the event. The guests were going to move about according to their whims, watch performance they’re interested in and buy snacks from various stalls to eat them. Tsumugi noticed that this was similar to the Summer Live event, where it’s really just an event rather than a battle.

Subaru doesn’t care though, as he declared that they would just decide on winning criteria by themselves. He told the others that if they’ve managed to get more guests to watch their performance and made the performance livelier than Adam’s, it would be their victory. As there were alot of guests and the event could be compared as an S1 level event in Yumenosaki Gakuen, Hokuto felt that this was a good criterion, saying that even if they knew that their rivals are strong, it’s not the time to get scared at this time. Hokuto declared that this was the chance where they can aim for their revenge since they’ve worked so hard and would want to overturn the humiliating defeat from the last time. 

Makoto joined Subaru and Hokuto, asking them when had Trickstar became two-member unit just like Adam. Subaru was surprised that Makoto and Mao were only just joining us this time since he had expected them to arrive already when Hokuto asked everyone to gather earlier on. Makoto gave a weak smile and explained that they were caught in the crowd just now and it took until now for them to arrive ^^; The two of them had headed off to meet Adam a while ago before meeting the rest of us here, which confused Subaru as initially all 4 of them had already exchanged greetings with them at the start of the event. 

Makoto and Mao had gone over to see their reactions towards them, but till the end, Adam doesn’t seem to show any rivalry towards them at all. Throughout their trip here in Shuuetsu Academy, everyone had been treating them really well and giving them lots of benefits in the school, which Makoto deduced that perhaps it was their plan to make them consider joining the agency. He felt that part of Adam’s plan was to get Trickstar to become their comrades rather than “killing” them off as enemies, which explained why they were so nice to them. But, Makoto worried that Adam would put in their all to try and destroy them once Trickstar decided to fight against Adam. This was what Makoto had investigated and managed to know within this one week in Shuuetsu Academy

(Mao remarked that when Makoto puts on his spectacles, it would seem like he doesn’t have much confidence, but he gets things done really well anyway~ ^^ Mao had also done the same - since he’s good at snooping (?), but he felt that Hokuto won’t be able to do it, to which Hokuto said he can since he was part of the drama club~ I guess no one has confidence of Hokuto’s acting ^^;)

Makoto had also done his research online while undergoing his practice just like he was instructed too. He remarked that it was hard since the information about Adam were strongly protected and any information/rumours about them had been under control. This was why Makoto had proposed to meet Adam together with Mao to test their reaction, and with the information which they’ve compiled together, Mao announced that after analyzing them, it would be dangerous for Trickstar if they battled against Adam seriously at this time, since they would end up being injured as well.

However, Makoto told them that if they’ve felt that they would be able to win Adam and want to fight them, he would be willing to do so even if he might end up having to sacrifice himself. But he also felt that it would be best for them to reduce the damage they could sustain this time and be on guard instead, as they still do not want to be killed this time round. In the end, Makoto and Mao decided to leave the decision to “me” and Hokuto, as we were the producer and leader of Trickstar. 

Hokuto was deep in thoughts as he thought that this battle was just a beginning since the actual battle was during the SS. If they’ve made a wrong step this time, they might end up being “dead” before they knew it. Subaru was more worried about Mao, wondering whether Nagisa had said anything horrible to Mao again this time. He had felt Nagisa to be quite scary even though he had not known much about him due to not having to talk to him much before, and felt that it would be bad if he had gotten involved with him.

Mao smiled that and replied that he was in fact relieved that the person had said everything upfront about him and made him realised his problems. He said that he had released everything he had wanted to say before the performance, and thus felt really relieved now, to which Subaru dissed him that it sounds like Mao had just gone to relieve himself at the toilet ^^;

Subaru told Mao that he knew that Mao was deeply affected by what Nagisa had said a few days ago, but regardless of what others had said about him, he wished that Mao would believe in what he’s going to say to him. Subaru had never once thought of Mao as a torchlight and him being someone useless at all. He wanted Mao to always be his comrade where they like, support and rely on each other, and thus asked him not get away from them. Whatever that might come their way today or tomorrow, Subaru would always want Mao to be by his side. Without Mao, there won’t be Trickstar, and this was something that Subaru felt that Adam, who had only met them just a while ago, won’t be able to understand. Mao smiled and replied that he was glad to hear what Subaru had said, and remarked that such words made him felt that it was good to be alive.

But Mao also agreed partially with what Nagisa had said, claiming that it was the truth. Even though he had felt deeply hurt initially, wanted Nagisa to spare him, he was glad that Nagisa had said it in the end, as this matter was actually what Mao had wanted to discuss with the members someday in the future. He found that the Trickstar members were really nice to him, and thus won’t say such harsh critics about him, so he was glad to meet an opponent who doesn’t spare him and attack him like this. Mao realised that he was just being sneaky all this while by making himself useful in the little areas and staying within the comfort zone. He felt that this should be his position in the group, which is to support and protect the remaining members who always did unexpected things in various situations, stating that this was all that he could do in the group. 

He smiled and said this was a point that he wanted to improve on, and he wanted to continue fighting on even though he found it scary that his weak point was targetted on by his enemy. Mao declared that this was the time when he realised that he had really become their comrades, saying that it was the producer’s role to stay within the safe circle and think up a battle plan and that he would bleed and fight along with them instead from now. (Mao... So cool when he said that! >/////<)

Mao remarked that perhaps he might still be mistaken and thought that he can be a star when he was just a “torchlight” since he had found the others to be really shiny and thought that he can shine too if he was basked under that light. Subaru furiously denied that and claimed that Mao was a part of Trickstar and their star too. Mao thanked him but continued on that if they see that he had already reached his limits as an idol in the future, he wanted them to abandon him and continue on to find another comrade who could shine even more than him instead without looking back. (Mao... why are you saying that? T/////T) He told Subaru that it was every idol’s dream to win in SS, and also the sad wish of Subaru’s father which never gets fulfilled in the end. (Therefore, he wanted them to go to greater heights and win it, even if it means abandoning him? T////T)

Subaru rejected to do, saying that it would be worthless to him if they had won the SS without Mao with them. Even Tsumugi could not take it anymore and told him that no one would be happy if he had done that. Tsumugi had already been through an experience of people being abandoned once they’ve outlived their usefulness and said that it only left them with a sense of emptiness. If Mao had done that, he would definitely regret for the rest of his life. 

Mao assured them that in order for that not to happen, he’s going to work really hard. He wanted to make the “torchlight” to have a power that it shouldn't have and shines to the point to make it seem like he’s a star too like the rest of them. He was glad and said that this was actually something which he had admired and wanted to do.  There’s nowhere he can escape to now, and thus decided to fight on even if he dislikes it. Rather than being hurt, he would rather wish that he was not being disliked by others. Mao felt that this should be the way he should live now since he knew that he would dislike it if he ended up in regret even though he lived peacefully after giving up. 

Mao continued on by relaying that he was always fine in being the 2nd or 3rd when he was young, as he was worried about angering or being disliked by anyone if he was the first. He doesn’t like being in a competition since he won’t feel happy even if he win or lose back then. To lost would mean one would feel regret about it and to win would mean that the winner had caused someone to fall and thus hurting someone else. Even though people might say that that’s just Mao being nice and gentle to other people, but he knew that he’s just being a spoiled child who doesn’t want to be disliked by anyone else. 

(Somehow... I can sort of understand his feelings. There are times that I started being all polite and really friendly and nice even though I may not feel that way, but you did so anyway since I wanted to show an image of you being a nice and great person... People had commented that I was being fake, but in reality, I just didn’t want to be disliked by anyone, that’s all.)

Mao didn’t want to be such a person anymore. He wanted to fight along with the rest of Trickstar, he wanted to win and to be able to laugh and be proud of his victory. He wanted people to praise that Trickstar was actually a really great unit, and be admired by many people. He asked us whether we had found what he was thinking to be a stupid idea, that he had never experienced such a feeling up till now. However, Mao said that since he was still considered a child (they’re not exactly an adult yet at this age), he wanted to be like them, a kid who could still see his dreams! (Mao just wanted to be like the rest of them in the end T////T) He declared that he’s going to do whatever he wants to from now on, and not ask whether he can do it instead XD He started getting excited and asked whether the Autumn Live event is going to start soon since he wanted to sing and dance right now~ ^^

Challenge / 会戦: Chapter 4

Over at Adam’s side, Ibara could be seen handing a script over to Nagisa, and he said that this was the complete version with what Nagisa should say to show himself and communicate with the audience later on. (As it was decided that Nagisa would show a different side to his fans and audience as an idol, it was usually Ibara who prepare a script for Nagisa in preparation of such situations where he had to interact with the audience/media.) Ibara was confident that they would definitely win in the autumn live event, but Nagisa just showed an unpleasant face without saying anything. Ibara was worried and asked Nagisa what he was not pleased about, where the latter talked about how he had felt that his world was small and simple when he was young, but now that he had grown up, the world had felt too large and colourful to him that it made him feel troubled. 

Nagisa didn’t like complex matters, so he left them to Ibara to handle them usually. Ibara was glad to take over such matters and handle them since there was an advantage for him to be doing them as he admitted that he would get to make use of Nagisa instead. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was the worst bastard in the world and felt that of course he would be disliked and hated by others. To be thanked instead by Nagisa made him felt weird, as he expressed that he won’t know how to react to that. Nagisa told Ibara that a human’s life is a punishment by the heaven and a prank set by the gods, the world had felt like hell to him that made to make him suffer. But Nagisa had lived on nevertheless, and thus he decided that he would just have to live on.

Ibara started complaining about how Trickstar was difficult for him to tackle this time round. But since both sides didn’t really declare a battle with each other, Ibara was glad that he doesn’t have to choose a method that would have to cause a blood bathe in the end. He admitted that he had known about the inside information regarding Subaru’s father, and was planning to make use of it to create a topic. (Ugh...scary Ibara D:) Ibara explained that a “weapon” could be used to threaten one’s enemy to make them feel powerless rather than using it directly, and was confident to say that the final “weapon” of Trickstar had now already landed in their hands.

Nagisa sighed and mentioned that he had met Subaru’s father a long time ago, and even though they had spent the time with each other for only a short time, Subaru’s father had taught Nagisa how to sing. Now that he had to face against Subaru as an enemy, Nagisa can’t help but feel that this was the work of fate acting on him. He told Ibara that he doesn’t need the script prepared for him, remarking that he most probably won’t be able to use it. Ibara was worried, asking Nagisa is it because he was not pleased with it and wondering whether asking Nagisa to laugh in a “bwahahaha” way not suitable for him. He explained that it was the agency’s request that “Adam” should emphasize on their masculine side since they’re now bearing this name. (So... “Eve” should be more feminine? =w=“) If they could appeal and satisfy the main audience, they could gain positions that would be of advantage to them.

Nagisa advised him that Trickstar was a unit that’s not easy to mess with, and asked him to take note that the atmosphere in the event venue had already changed. Therefore, Adam should not behave as though they’re the kings and acting all proud and mighty this time. He smirked and remarked that it seems that Trickstar had gotten even more alive and livelier when they met an even stronger enemy than them, and as what their name had derived from, Nagisa said that they’re really a group of tricksters~

Challenge / 会戦: Chapter 5 - 6

Back to Trickstar's side, it seems that they're progressing smoothly and performed better than what they're initially expected. Subaru was glad to see that the audience from the other sides had gathered over to watch their performance.  He had known that the event would be a disadvantage to them, and as Adam was active in this area, Subaru expected that they would have a large of fans gathered by their side and stayed until the end for sure.  As Adam had an agency who was good at managing and planning for such events, Subaru guessed that they would have also done a perfect job in promoting and gathering an audience to their side. Subaru knew that there was no reason for the audience in supporting them during the Autumn Live event, in fact, he had expected Trickstar to be ignored and treated meanly by people who don't even know them. He was even troubling on what he should do in order to grab the attention of the audience's eyes and ears so that they would get interested in them and all he could do was to sing and dance the best he can in hope that those people would become their fans in the end. He was pleasantly surprised to find that a large audience had not only gathered in front of them, but they had also acted like they're their fans for a long time, and wondered what was going on to make such a situation happen. Nevertheless, he was glad and thankful for it, since he had even thought that nobody would even watch them, and they would be like lonely birds singing by themselves on the stage, just like how he had been in the past. 

Subaru noticed that Hokuto was smiling and complimenting "me" on doing a good job, and thus asked him what is it that "I've" done.  Hokuto explained that "I've" had gotten in contact and communicated with them to make such a situation possible now for Trickstar.  Both Hokuto's parents had been actively teaching in Shuuetsu Academy as well as other affiliated academies recently, and have helped to promote Trickstar to their students in that period of time. He remarked that his parents were really good at grabbing people's hearts,  and after a period of time the students were all influenced by them. It was "my" plan to target the students as prospective audiences since "I" had believed that the loneliness and unpleased feelings the students had accumulated over the years towards the school's hierarchy system will not easily disappear. Hokuto remarked that "I" had always looked at them and thought of ways to help them ever since the Summer Live event, and told Subaru that just like them, "I" didn't like the feeling of losing ^^ 

However, since Shuuetsu Academy and the agency was quite strict with us, "I" must be careful not to arouse any suspicions, if not the agency would target "me" and destroy "me" instead (as a producer). Even though we're faced with restrictions and limited freedom, "I" had made used of it to make a comeback, by borrowing the help of Hokuto's parents~ (Even though Hokuto appeared not to like his parents that much, he's smiling and seems to be quite proud of the fact that his parents are powerful people ^^;) He continued by explaining that it was considered normal for one's parents to support their child, and thus for Hokuto's parents to offer assistance to us was not considered weird at all. The agency could not rebut against the decision of Hokuto's parents helping to teach at their affiliated schools since they've personally requested Hokuto's father to come and teach in the first place. 

Hokuto's parents had taught these students well and made them believed that perhaps it was not a dream for them to become an elite student. They started harbouring hopes and dreams and thus attracted to Trickstar's stage, gathering over here. As the students who were not "elite students" made up a large part of the school more than "elite students", and knowing that they wanted to become an "elite student" but don't have a place to vent out their unpleasant feeling about the school, we've made used of this feeling to promote Trickstar, since Trickstar was known to have caused a revolution by defeating the people who had taken control Yumenosaki Gakuen in the past. Even though it was hard for Trickstar to have risen from nobody till the position they're at now, the people on the outside had no idea about this at all, and thus they could continue to imagine and hoped that they too, could be like Trickstar one day and overthrow the terrible system of their school.  This was what that had gotten the students' attention, and since Hokuto's parents had requested them to help support their child, they had decided to gather in front of Trickstar's stage. What happens next would be Trickstar using their skills and talents to turn these students into their fans, and this was why Trickstar's performance so far had gotten a good reaction. Hokuto can’t help but to be impressed by “my” producer’s plan this time round ^^ 

But... what "I" could do for them was until here, and the remaining would be Trickstar's turn to shine instead. Hokuto explained that once there's a large amount of audience gathered at a spot, the other guests would start to get interested and would want to know what had happened over there. What Trickstar could do now was to grab this chance and further increase the number of audience watching, entrapped them and let them become their fans~ ^^ If someone watches their performance and thought that it's good and started liking them, it would also cause a good effect for them in preparation for the SS that would be happening at the end of the year. 

Trickstar had taken up lessons at Shuuetsu Academy and had improved on their strengths as well as working on their weakness. Hokuto said that they had to grow and get even stronger so that they would be able to challenge against Adam, the unit who was considered as the strongest among their age group. What Subaru could gather in the end from Hokuto's long explanation was that they just had to gather all their strengths together and reverse the disadvantage situation they're in in the first place, and was glad to know that it may not be a dream after all to get their revenge on Eden. 

Just then Mao joined in and lectured them that they've been talking for too long, requesting them to focus since now that the event was still going on and that ultimately they're still at a disadvantage as they're in their enemies' turf after all. As the Trickstar members had been practising separately recently, Makoto felt that they had gotten even more powerful when they've gathered and sung together, claiming that he really felt that they had gotten stronger. He said that even though it may feel like it was a miracle for them to have won in the DDD, but now... he felt that they do have the skills and talents now to make miracles happen again and again. He wondered whether he could be a little bit more proud and said that "he's someone who could also do it!", adding on that as long as he's with them, he's not afraid of anything. (Awww~ Makoto~ >////<)

Subaru asked Mao to get his tension up and told everyone that they would be able to do it. He wanted to let Adam, especially Nagisa who had angered Mao to regret being proud and stepping on them in the first place. 

Mao gave a weak smile and thought that Subaru was energetic just like always, but felt that even though he was being burned just being with him, he can't help but to want to work hard too. He wanted to shine brightly with the rest of Trickstar, thinking that even though in the past it may feel like he was just getting the reflection of their shininess when they performed together. Mao wanted to believe that he could shine too, and thus would work his hardest to do that. He felt happy and thought that he really like the Trickstar members very very much ^///^

However, Mao can't help to feel that there's a sense of unease deep inside him. He was all pumped up and everyone was in great condition and with "my" plan proceeding along together with the best stage that the support staff provided for them, everything seems perfect since the audience was smiling and getting excited all over them, yet he could feel a very unpleasant feeling going down his spine. He wondered whether it was him worrying too much but suspected that things won't be so easy to let them proceed so smoothly in this event live since after all, they're facing against an enemy that they can't even catch up to now no matter how hard they try to shine their best. Mao felt that things won't end that easy for them, and wondered what Adam was doing now currently...? They can't be silently letting Trickstar getting more and more audience in front of their stage, right? Suddenly, Mao felt that the atmosphere in the venue had changed, and wondered what had happened. He noticed that there's a stage that's right on the opposite side of Trickstar's stage in the event venue, and realised that it was Adam's plan to set up a stage right opposite to Trickstar to let them see them perform. Adam's plan was probably to let Trickstar see how great their performance was and made them lose confidence in themselves. Mao felt that Adam was going to launch their huge attack on them, and started having a very bad premonition on what that is going to happen after that.

Epilogue

Over at Adam side, Ibara reported that the people who had gathered over at Trickstar's stage were mainly students who were not "elite students". He was impressed with how observant Nagisa was this time and complimented him on how he had realised how the situation was going to be at Trickstar's side. 

(Funny that while he complimented Nagisa, Ibara blamed himself for getting too engrossed in his own plans and said that it's his bad habit for overthinking and being too focused on the small details. But Nagisa was still nice to him by saying that it's a good point of Ibara to be like this since the world is too complex ^^;)

However, Adam was not afraid by Trickstar, with Ibara announcing that they had accumulated more support than what they've initially expected. He said that this was all thanks to "Eve" and though he admitted that there are parts that he had committed a mistake on with his plan, he felt that everything in this event could be seen as part of the trial and error for him anyway.  He claimed that he would think through properly after this event and do a better job next time since the next time it would be a bloodbath and exciting fight over at SS. 

Ibara announced that in order to attain the peace that Nagisa was wishing for, first, they would have to prepare for a battle since the next battle would be coming soon! If they made any mistakes or encountered bad luck, they might end up being the ones dying in the battle instead. He shot out to the audience, telling them that they're going to get a shot in their heart while watching and supporting their performance.  Ibara was really glad that and remarked that he felt excited being free to do what he likes in this performance. He asked Nagisa whether it was alright for him to pull off his mask and expose his aura to kill, telling him that for them to continue to survive, he's going to make this world which was a hell to their own heaven.  He laughed and boasted that he felt good that he's the worst bastard in the world. (Wow... Ibara, are you alright? OWO" Is it too late to feel that the people in Adam are sort of weird? OAO)

Nagisa was alright with what Ibara had said, thinking to himself that they're not angels anyway.  What they're aiming towards was an end, a paradise which they wanted. Nagisa thought to himself, talking to his father who had abandoned him and headed to the heaven first. His father had cultivated the entertainment industry and created countless idols in his lifetime, and though Nagisa doesn't know what does "love" feels like, he wanted to be the idol that his father had loved so much in his life, hoping that if he had achieved that he might be able to know "love" in the end. 

"I've always wanted that (love) for a long time..."

Nagisa continued thinking that there were so many things which he didn't understand in this world. He wondered that if he had died, he would not have any relation to this world anymore, and would just disappear. But Nagisa doesn't want "him" to be sad, and thus decided to live on. And since he had decided to live on, he wanted to be the perfect idol in this world. 

As Nagisa sang, Subaru was shocked by Adam's performance that he stopped singing! Mao reminded him and thought that it was rare for Subaru to get shocked, but he knew how he had felt since the whole atmosphere of the venue had changed once Nagisa had started singing. That change had just affected the audience, but also the Trickstar members who were in the midst of singing and dancing as well. But Mao knew that for a performance to affect Subaru that badly, it would mean that their opponents were really powerful. But Mao felt that there's nothing they could do now other than trying their best to catch up to them. He knew that he might not be able to catch up trying to get back the time he had spent slacking and choosing the easier path the last time, but what he could do now was to continue to survive, without losing confidence in his heart or anything, and returned to Yumenosaki Gakuen with everyone. 

Since this was the path which Mao had chosen now, he won't regret it. He tried his best to continue performing, asking Adam to watch out for him. Even though he may not be in their eyes and considered quite far from them in terms of skills and talents, Mao was determined to become stronger to the point that they can't ignore him anymore. He might still be considered a "torchlight" to Adam, Mao wanted to make them scared that he was shining too much in the future~

And whew~! That's it for this event story~ Really sorry that it turned out to be quite long... and truthfully I don't think I did a very good job in summarizing and explaining what this event story is about since most of the time I'm confused myself while reading this story. (Adam is hard to understand, Ibara is hard to understand, Nagisa is near to impossible to understand Orz)

Kind of interesting that the key person this was Mao~! Usually, he really does sit on the back burner when it comes to Trickstar's story but glad that finally, he hogs the limelight this time! Actually, I'm happier to know more about Mao's feelings since he's not one who would really reveal his true thoughts that much as compared to the other members~

As the point ranking rewards this time was Adam's cards, I worked towards 1.1 million points to finally get them and bloom them in the end +W+ I really like Ibara's salute pose in the CG illustration~

Hokuto’s 3* card illustrations were really adorable and cool this time~! I really found that his reactions to his parents were espcially refreshing. This was really unlike the Hokuto who I’ve known so far XD

Bonus Omake

Subaru getting shocked that "I" had met with Ibara and him complimenting that "I" was pretty. He immediately got angry and remarked that that felt dangerous, advising "me" to be careful around Ibara. (But why does this sounds like Subaru was jealous XD)

Subaru talking about how Hokuto had brought along snacks to keep him accompany on their trip here to Shuuetsu Academy. He had wanted to bring Daikichi here along together with him, wondering whether he had felt lonely that Subaru wasn't around him and whether everything would be alright now that he won't be home for a week... (Kind of unfair that only Hokuto gets something he likes to accompany him but not Subaru ^^;)

[collarximagines]

AFTER YUZURU SAEKI’S X-DAY: CHAPTER 2 (SAEKI SATURDAY)

Well here we are again, on everyone’s favourite day of the week. I may miss a few dates of updating, but at least I don’t let you down on this one! I am such a good Neko :’) *jokes but still*

[x] - Prologue [x] - Chapter 1

“Don't think anyone will sympathise with you just because your little life is in danger”. A threatening green-haired male said, his face close and his eyes practically sparkling with anger, before the scene changed. “Don't catch me off guard with that! Dammit! Why are you so cute! It's annoying! I want to hug you!” A blushing red-head stood there, sounding both irritated and embarrassed and then the scene changed once more. “I suppose I'm lonely...I was looking forward to today so much, so it's sad for me to part ways with you...” The long-haired blonde male stood there, his eyes closed as he spoke, then the scene changed. “...Hey, squeeze my pinky”. The white-haired male looked serene and so peaceful, and as though everything was just right. Then the scene changed. “It'll be alright. We've got you”. Ichika looked up into the eyes of the dark-haired male, feeling strangely comforted by his words and his appearance, until the scene changed. There was blood everywhere as Ichika rushed around, seeing dead bodies everywhere, the bodies of the men she had just seen not long ago. She stopped in front of the dark-haired one who weakly smiled up at her, looking close to death himself. “I'm sorry, I wasn't able to save you like I promised...”

February 4th. 6:30AM

Ichika shot up in bed with a start, her eyes wide and sweat running down her whole body. Her breaths were quick and an unsuspected tear ran down from her eye.

Who were the men in her dream? They appeared somehow familiar, and yet, try as she might, she couldn't find anything in her mind which could have answered her questions. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen the men before and that they had become an important part of her life. She also wondered what the dark-haired male had meant. He had promised to save her? As far as Ichika was aware, her life was in no danger and never had been.

February 4th. 9AM

It was Ichika's first day off in a while, and honestly, it was a relief that she didn't have to go into work. She had so many thoughts running through her mind. So many unanswered questions. She wondered briefly if Saeki would have been able to answer her questions. Did he know something she didn't? It seemed strange to think, but she figured there was a chance.

With that in mind, she removed picked up her phone from the arm of the sofa, next to where she had been sat.

Ichika Hoshino: I'm sorry to bother you while you're working, Saeki. I was just wondering if we could talk once you're home from work.

She set her phone back on the arm and had been about to do some cleaning in the apartment while he was away, though hearing her phone buzzing made her look at that instead. The male had been fast, which was surprising as she knew he was at work.

Yuzuru Saeki: Ah,of course, Hoshino! We can talk about anything! I won't be home too late tonight anyway, I hope everything's alright. I worry about you, y'know...

His words comforted her and removed any worries about the blonde. There was no way he could have been lying to her. He was the only one who had been with her through everything and she couldn't see him ever doing anything to cause her harm.

~ Yuzuru Saeki ~

As soon as Saeki had read the text, his eyes widened in panic. She wanted to talk? What could she have wanted to talk about? Had she learned something about the past? It wouldn't have been too hard for her to find information on the internet about what had happened, though he couldn't see her being curious about something that hadn't happened as far as she was aware, surely.

He felt terrified, wondering what was going to happen. If she had figured things out, then he would have had to do something severe. He had almost lost her to the men when they were alive, there was no chance in hell he was going to lose her to a dead man.

Saeki soon relaxed and smiled instead. He was confident he didn't have anything to worry about. If she seemed like she was beginning to remember the past, he would just keep her locked away for no one to find her. And it wasn't as though that was his only option either. He knew that he could have also gave her the drug he used to force her amnesia once more. There really was nothing to worry about.

~ Ichika Hoshino ~

February 4th. 6:15PM

“Hoshino~ I'm home~!” A familiar voice with a song-like quality resonated through the apartment as Saeki closed the door behind him. The voice caused the female to jump in surprise in her position in front of the oven, where she had been cooking dinner for the two of them.

He walked over with a bright smile on his lips, taking in the scent of the food. In his eyes, she would have made the perfect house wife and honestly, he intended to make that the case one day, once she realised that she loved him in the same way that he had always loved her.

She turned to look at the blonde and tried to smile at him, only just being able to force one for him. Her mind was still lost on the thoughts which had been occupying her mind all day and Saeki could tell something was amiss with her. He had known Ichika for long enough to be able to tell when something was wrong and as much as it annoyed him, he managed to remain calm, trying to reassure himself that she hadn't regained her memories. He tried to reassure himself that the thing she wished to talk about was something simple, something he would have been able to resolve quite easily.

February 4th. 8PM

The two had finished dinner, with Ichika struggling to do so, due to how anxious she was feeling. She didn't think that Saeki had noticed, but in reality, he was fully aware. He knew she must have been worried about whatever had been on her mind and he had her sit down as he poured the two of them a glass of wine each, hoping it would have helped the female calm down. Though, he was confident it would have calmed her down.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Saeki asked from the kitchen area of their apartment.

Ichika nodded, glad that he was still willing to talk about it. “I had this strange dream. There were five different men who I've never seen and they were talking to me as if they knew me. And the next minute... they.... they were all dead...” She struggled to get the words out, feeling upset at the thought alone, even though she didn't think she knew any of them.

~ Yuzuru Saeki ~

His hand clenched into a tight fist, hearing about Ichika's dream. It seemed her memories hadn't gone all together. It also seemed she was quite worried about her dream, perhaps she really did know that she had met them before and that they were important to her. Something had to be done about that.

The male pulled a small vial of powder from his pocket and poured some into the female's wine glass without her seeing, before carrying both glasses over and set them on the coffee table. She thanked him and quite soon took a sip of her wine. He was happy that she still trusted him so much, at least she didn't seem to think he could have been the reason for their deaths.

“That is a strange dream, Hoshino. Though, I do have something I must confess...” Saeki began, seeing how the girl was looking at him eagerly, though her eyes were beginning to gloss over, the powder clearly beginning to take over.

“Those men in your dream, they were all in love with you. And of course, I just couldn't allow that, and so” He began, a dark smirk on his lips, one which Ichika had never seen before. Her eyes widened just by seeing that and she suddenly appeared to fear him so much more than she had ever done before. “I killed each one. The next slower than the last. You should have seen the look on their pathetic faces, their eyes begging me not to kill them. I gave them a chance, to surrender you to me and I'd let them go if they never showed their faces again. And you know what they said?”

The male stopped, noticing the girl had suddenly fallen unconscious. She'd be fine, he'd only given her a small amount of the medicine he'd used before to cause her amnesia. This time she'd only lose her memories of the last day. She'd forget everything that he'd told her and the dream she'd had about the others. It would all be fine for Saeki, apart from having to be sure she wouldn't somehow remember them again.

Saeki sighed. “Why must you still remember them, Hoshino? We could be married with children by now, if you'd just forget those idiots”.

Not going to lie, I quite like this chapter! And you guys asked for yandere Saeki and he’s starting to show! Also, I’m so sorry for reminding you that the boys are dead! :’( But don’t worry! This isn’t the main route, so they’re all still alive really!

, Neko

[aeoki]

Best Shot - Chapter 8

Location: Seaside Characters: Touri, Hajime, Nazuna & Yuzuru

Season: Summer Writer: Yoshino Yuuki

Nazuna: Is that okay? Alright, thanks for today...♪

Hajime: Nii-chan, you were very cool and cute ♪

The way you acted towards the staff made you feel like a capable adult, but it also felt like you were very good at bringing out your cuteness during the photoshoot~

I’d very much like to learn from you ♪

Nazuna: I think you’ll be able to sympathise with the staff, though ☆ You’re plenty cute the way you are~ Good boy ♪

Hajime: Ehehe~♪ Ah, Anzu-san is calling me. I’ll be back, then!

Um, where should I stand…? Stand with my back to the palm tree?

Whaa, the bottle is transparent and very pretty~ What flavour is it?

Citrus & elderflower? Elderflower is a herb and is known for its sweet fragrance, isn’t it?

My hobby is making sachets, so I’ve made an elderflower sachet before.

Actually, the sachet I gave to Anzu-san the other day is one with elderflower in it… Ah, I see you’ve got it on you, that makes me happy ♪

I-I’m sorry. We won’t be able to do the shoot if I keep talking, will we?

Hold the bottle to your cheek and then smile shyly…? A-All right.

Hajime: “~......♪”

��Let’s overcome the summer heat with this refreshed flavour. The citrus & elderflower flavour is now on sale due to popular demand...♪”

Huh, one take is fine?

Y-Yes. Thank you!

I’m surprised, I thought I’d need to retake it over and over. It could be because my nervousness went away just in time. It’s all thanks to you, Anzu-san...♪

Why, it’s because we were talking about sachets. If we didn’t do that, I think I would have been too anxious about the camera and looked down instead.

It may be through a camera, but I’m not used to having so many eyes on me… I’m an idol, and yet, it’s strange for me to be bad with stares, isn’t it?

I can get used to it, little by little…? Y-You’re right. I’ll do my best!

Touri: Anzu~!

Hajime: Ah, Himemiya-kun. I see your photoshoot is finished too, I’m sure you worked hard ♪

Touri: Hmm, I heard you were OK in one take too? You weren’t as cute as me, but still pretty good. It felt like Nito-senpai was a little cunning, though.

Nazuna: What’re you mean by cunning? That’s kinda rude~ I just posed the way they told me to.

I even shut away my embarrassment to express myself in a ‘cute’ way.

Being ‘cute’ is still better, but I also had to be ‘fresh’, you know? I really had a hard time~

Yuzuru: Oh, it didn’t seem that way at all. You had very adorable features, Nito-sama.

Like the young master, his appearance is adorable like an angel’s, however, to my regret, his words and conduct is as you’ve seen.

Touri: Don’t say that! Yuzuru, you really know how to get on my nerves, don’t you…?

Well, whatever. Anyway, Yuzuru, I’m thirsty. Go buy me a drink from the beach house, don’t forget Anzu’s, Nito-senpai, and the commoner’s share, too.

Yuzuru: Understood. Nevertheless, this is your reward for working so hard, young master. Next time, be sure to go on your own when you want to buy a drink, all right?

Touri: Even if I said that, you’re the one who won’t let me go on my own.

Anzu you're going with Yuzuru too?… W-Well it is lunchtime, so everyone is hungry. But since the beach umbrellas are all set up, you could just stay underneath them and cool down.

Nazuna: Hm~ You won’t have enough hands with just the two of you, right? I’ll come help you guys.

Hajime: If that’s the case, then I will too!

Nazuna: It’s fine, you and Momo-chin stay here. Three people’s enough, so be nice to each other while we’re gone, okay~? ♪

Hajime: (Uuu. This reminds me of the outing the other day. It’s not particularly awkward, but I’m not sure what to talk about. W-What should I do…?)

Touri: …………

Hajime: …………

(Has Himemiya-kun caught my nervousness as well?)

(He doesn’t seem very comfortable. I know I have to say something, but I can’t think of anything.)

(I could talk to him easily during the outing, so it’s strange.)

(No, that may have been unnatural and our current situation may be the natural one. Himemiya-kun is someone with a social standing that’s far above mine, after all.)

Touri: Um.

Hajime: Y-Yes? What is it, Himemiya-kun?

Touri: I’ll apologise if I’m just imagining it, but… you seem to be keeping your distance when you’re around me, right?

I’m a noble, after all, your reaction’s correct.

But, it’s like there’s a wall between us and I don’t like that.

I didn’t tell you to respect me, but you’re doing it anyway… I told you before your reaction isn’t weird in any way.

In fact, I should be praising you for doing that, but how do I put it, it makes my chest feel weird.

Anyway, it’s kinda gross!

Ah, I don’t mean that you’re gross though, okay? Hm, I don’t know how to say it. It’s hard to explain.

Hajime: Himemiya-kun…

(Before I realised it, I decided on my own that Himemiya-kun is someone amazing, who’s from another dimension from me, and I distanced myself from him.)

(I was going to do my best to be friends with him, but somewhere along the way, I gave up on that, didn’t I?)

(I placed him somewhere high, far from my reach, and worshipped him.)

(I did the same thing to him, the same way I’d treat the idols I admire…)

(I’m sorry, Himemiya-kun. I’ve finally realised my misunderstanding.)

(In order to be friends, I need to open up first. That’s the first step in a friendship...♪)

Himemiya-kun…!

Touri: Woah, that gave me a surprise! I’ll apologise if I made you angry, okay?

Hajime: N-No. I didn’t yell because you angered me, you see, umm…

Can you tell me about the things you like?

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