Operetta - Brothers 7

[bakemonoremy]

Location: Coffee Shop

- A few minutes later -

Rei: Fuhahahaha! How I made you wait, idols of Yumenosaki Academy! Tremble before the majestic appearance of the “Demon King Who Rules Over The Dead Of Night”, Sakuma Rei ♪

Kaoru: There it is, Rei-kun’s latest trademark gag! “The Demon King has appeared!”....☆

Ritsu: Muu, the strangely lighthearted mood of the graduates is pissing me off.

Koga: Yeah… I feel like I keep sayin’ this, but we seriously thought that "Repayment Fes" woulda been our final farewells.

If we played all grave ‘n serious it’d just be embarrassin’, so I guess there’s no helpin’ it that everyone’s actin’ a little crazy.

Kaoru: Ahaha. Like I said, graduation’s not a big deal… Really, it’s nothing more than a little bit of a turning point, right?

Rei: Indeed. Or perhaps it's something else…

Is widdle Koga unable to sleep at night because he gets upset if I don’t always cwadle him in my arms, saying “there, there”, and let him suckle from my bweast? What a twoublesome widdle baby you are~♪

Koga: Cut the annoyin’ baby-talk!

What kinda character are you tryin’ to be, don’t act so confusin’ just ‘cause it’s been a while since we last saw each other!

Rei: Kukuku. It hasn’t been nearly long enough to say “it’s been a while”, but I suppose the time perception of mortals is quite different from ours, and as such there’s no helping it.

Now that I’ve fallen right back into my vampire-speak again…

Allow me to express my deepest apologies for the worry and confusion I have caused your heart at once.

Koga: S-sheesh. Don’t get so serious all of a sudden, and if you’re gonna apologize, do it to Ritchii instead of me.

Ritsu: ……..

Rei: You’re right. I’m sorry, Ritsu. 

You’re smart, so I’m sure you already understand the situation… But this “Operetta” isn’t the kind of live the rumors on the internet say it is.

Ritsu: ...Well, that’s what I figured. I already thought it’d be unlike Anija.

Rei: Indeed. I would never do anything to hurt my cute little Ritsu.

Despite that, it was through ill luck that things ended up this way, and so I cannot bring myself to put on a proud face right now.

In truth, the incident that happened when I ran into you overseas was unintentional on my part, too.

At the time, I was on some minor business in Europe… Specifically, I was heading to the Holy Land of our family.

Ritsu: Aah, Transylvania? It’s not the season for the gathering yet, so what were you doing there… I didn’t hear about this.

Rei: Hmm. I’ll tell you about that later, when it becomes relevant. In any case, I have a number of “ears” overseas, so…

I heard about you Knights carrying out your coronation ceremony in Florence.

And since it’s only a stone’s throw between Transylvania and Florence…

I thought it was a good opportunity to see my little brother’s face, even if only from a distance, so I made up my mind to make a side trip there.

Ritsu: Yeah no, I’d say they’re actually pretty far apart. Well, to you that distance may only amount to “a short hop”.

Rei: Mhm. So I got my hands on a ticket and enjoyed the coronation ceremony, and after that I thought I’d return… 

But since I moved into a dorm after graduation, my time with Ritsu had been greatly diminished, and so I felt a little lonely.

I wanted to speak to you for even just a moment, even if all I could do was pay you the compliment, “It was a wonderful live”... My greed was my downfall.

I figured you’d be busy before and after the live, so I waited for another day to barge into you…

I heard you’d be having a day off soon, so I thought it’d be nice to go out for food together while we’re at it.

But Florence is a world-leading tourist spot, and if nothing else, it’s filled to the brim with reporters and TV crews.

That lot happened to find us by chance, and you know how the rest of the story goes.

By listening to our conversation, they were able to find out that we are brothers. And in this golden age of the internet, there’s no way to stop rumors from spreading.

With just a little bit of research, even the darkest secrets will come to light immediately.

It’s a hard world for us vampires to live in… I am starting to understand Itsuki-kun’s feelings of hatred for smartphones and such.

Ritsu: Hmm. Well, that’s fine and dandy. It seems like it was an unfortunate accident… So you really didn’t come all the way overseas just to chase after me, Anija?

Rei: I didn’t. Of course, if you caught a sudden illness or something of the sort I wouldn’t be able to restrain myself and would hurry over to you immediately, but if you’ll forgive the misleading statement… I don’t have that kind of free time.

Kaoru: Exactly. I just couldn’t stop him because he insisted it was absolutely necessary.

And while Rei-kun was gone, I was made to bear the whole brunt of our work myself, it was such a pain.

We might have been considered veterans at Yumenosaki, but in the entertainment industry as a whole, we’re just rookies. Don’t just carelessly take vacations~, this is an important time for us.

Rei: I’m well aware. Rest assured that I’ve reflected on my reckless behaviour. “I want to see my little brother’s face” is no reason to throw our schedules into disarray.

While I was still at Yumenosaki, people generally didn’t give me any special treatment…

I was able to laugh and cry on equal footing with humans, and so I carelessly forgot.

It may sound conceited when I say this myself, but ever since I was young I always found myself at the center of attention.

People crowd around me when I walk through town, and every word I say gets turned into some sort of grand news… 

I briefly had a lapse in memory regarding this fact. And it’s all because of how much I was able to enjoy most of my youth at Yumenosaki Academy… as a normal high schooler. 

However. It seems like I cannot stay in such a calm and peaceful position now that I have graduated. 

But I cannot condemn the people who turned my having a little brother into such a noisy spectacle for the whole world to see.

They had no ill intentions, and if we’re being truthful, being the talk of the town for a little while and gaining attention is a long-cherished ambition for idols like us.

All of that was done in good faith, and we shouldn’t deny any of it. They were acting for my sake.

I can’t possibly resent them, and I don’t have the slightest intention to penalize them either. My only concern is the discomfort this all caused you… Ritsu.

Ritsu: ………..

Rei: My cute little brother. All I can say is this: please be at ease. I will take care of this whole incident, and by all possible means put a stop to any further developments that would go against your wishes.

Just be patient for a short while. After some time has passed, you’ll be able to sleep peacefully once again. 

Ever since you were born, that was my one and only wish.

My dearest, cutest treasure… As your older brother I will protect you, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.

Ritsu: ...And you’re really okay with that?

Let’s say you really act on your own and simply settle this mess by yourself… Are you really okay with that? What about you, Corgi and Kaoru-san?

Koga: Eh, what about us…? This is a matter between you two brothers, it’s got nothin’ to do with us, right?

Ritsu: Mhm. You’re right, it’s not like we’re family or anything.

But if you think about it from another perspective, this Anija of mine is trying to let all this attention he’s getting from the whole world come to nothing... Or so you could say.

In order to protect his family. In other words, he’s trying to renounce this work-related advantage for personal reasons.

When you’re the center of attention, people and money come by easily, and we are talking about a worldwide scale here… Speaking as an idol, don’t you think this is a huge chance?

You could say he’s trying to throw all of that away out of selfishness.

As fellow idols… No, as fellow UNDEAD members, are you really okay with this? 

Koga: But, well… It can’t be helped, right. And it ain’t like he’s gettin’ attention as an idol, this is nothin’ but bein’ made a fuss over as gossip.

I wanna be appreciated for my abilities as an idol, for my singin’ and dancin’ and performance.

So I won’t feel happy if we get attention for saucy topics like who’s related to whom, or who’s in love with whom. ...Hakaze-senpai, you’re feelin’ me on this, right?