bakemonoremy

Location: Time Street

- Flashback. Yesterday, in the biggest “nightlife district” near the ES building — Time Street -

Yuuta: Hmhmhmmm ♪ Today’s dinner is gonna be~ Pizza-manjuu*~♪

Plenty of tabasco for a spicy inferno ♪ The ultimate tongue-tingling torture~... Hmhmhmmm ♪

(Mmh~! Lately I've been feeling kinda really content! Not the slightest anxiety or complaint whatsoever! Life's good~♪)

(Just the other day, I was all worried about what was gonna happen during MDM, — Well, rather, to Crazy:B. But from the looks of it I’d say they sorted it out the best they could.)

(Seems like those guys did their best to apologize to everyone, and managed to work things out so that they’ll be able to keep performing with all four of their members.)

(Of course, some people still hold a grudge against them, but the general vibe is “Well, Crazy:B seems apologetic enough, so we may as well forgive them”.)

(In fact, our shrewd Vice President of CosPro — Saegusa-senpai — somehow managed to use this as an opportunity to garner sympathy… That way, it seems like he managed to rack up great achievements for the agency this whole time since summer.)

(Since “we” are affiliated with CosPro, we’ll probably be able to benefit from this, too. Life’s a breeze when you can leech off your "family's" fortune.)

(...But back when CosPro first started scouting us, I actually had my reservations about it.)

(We'd finally found our footing as the “two-in-one twin idols”, and got to a place where we could start reaping the fruits of our labours.)

(That’s why I wasn’t sure if we should risk jumping into an entirely new environment.)

(But Sakuma-senpai and all these other Yumenosaki alumni started getting affiliated with various different agencies, too.)

(And it started feeling like if we didn’t declare our own intentions clearly, some unknown bigwig was going to simply state which place would suit us best and decide on their own just where we belong.)

(If that’s how it was gonna be, I much preferred to choose a place with people who reached out to us and told us they wanted us. By my — by our — own free will.)

(—We aren’t errand-boys to be used at other’s convenience, nor are we mere opening acts meant to hype up crowds.)

(.........)

(—Well, in hindsight, we made the right choice. Vice Prez Saegusa may see us as nothing but chess pieces to be used, but he at least gives us plenty of responsibility.)

(With all the focus on live performances back at Yumenosaki, I’d never have imagined the sheer variety of jobs we’re taking on now. But we've been doing a perfect job at all of them, and our achievements have been piling up.)

(We're in demand and appreciated, commended for our efforts and recognized — We’re being praised.)

(We, who were called “revolting” by our own biological father.)

(.........)

(...Well, I can’t say things like this in front of Aniki or anyone, since it’d just make them worry about me.)

(We’re doing better than ever, and yet, I can't feel truly happy about it… Or maybe it's more like I don’t know how to react.)

(Or rather, it feels empty.)

(We're the two-in-one twin idols, and because "there's two of us", we'll never lose to anyone. We can become "the strongest individual"...)

(That's the essence of 2wink, and it’s how we keep racking up achievements, but…)

(That’s also exactly why… No matter how much praise and recognition "we" get as 2wink, it always feels like it’s about someone else, someone unrelated to me…)

(Sometimes it scares me. It's like I'm living without really feeling alive.)

(This is the worst... And here I was the one who decided to live like this in the first place. There's no way I can detach “myself” from “us”, because this is the best solution for us and the best we can do.)

(Because we’ve finally become the ideal idols we’ve always admired and dreamed of being.)

(—Never again will I allow anyone to call us revolting because it’s impossible to tell us apart.)

(.........)

Hinata: Come ooon~, I said I can’t agree to this kinda thiiing, Rinne-senpaaai~♪

Rinne: It'll be fine, don't ya worry your little head about it! Just pretend I tricked ya into it and play along, it’s gonna be fun for sure ♪ Hey, c'mon already… Yeah?

Yuuta: (...Hmm!? Uh, what? Isn’t that Aniki — and Amagi Rinne from Crazy:B?)

Hinata: Eeeh~? But stiiiill, I have a little brother waiting for me at hooome…

Rinne: Gyahaha! Just let ‘im wait, then! Big bros are way greater than their lil' bros based on just how much sooner they were born!

And anyway, who the hell still eats all three meals with their family even in high school? Just what century didja get your family values from?

We’re livin’ in 21st century Japan, so your own happiness obviously comes before your family’s, right?

Hey “Onii-chan”, what’cha gonna do once you’ve found yourself a wife?

Ya gonna tell her “take my brother too, please~”, or what? Ain't no one out there with a big heart like that!

Got it? So it’s totally fine for ya to find your individual happiness and have a lil' fun on your own, “Onii-chan”!

The Japanese constitution guarantees our right and freedom to do that, yeah? Gyahahaha ☆

Hinata: Eeh~? Well, maybe that’s how it is in the Amagi household, but—

Rinne: That's how it is for all siblings in every household! Alrighty then, it’s decided! Sir~, we’ve got a customer!

He's lookin' a lil' young, but he’s an adult, I swear!

Hinata: Wawah? I can’t, I said I can’t! I’m pretty sure minors aren’t even allowed at this establishment—

Rinne: It’s fine, it’s fiiine! By the time you leave this place, you’ll be an adult, too! Gyahahaha ☆

Yuuta: (.........)

Yuuta: (W-w-w-wha— What are you doing!? Stupid Aniki~!)

(That was Aniki just now, wasn’t it!? Aah, good thing I brought my binoculars!)

(I usually carry it with me so I can spy on the audience before a live and adjust our performance to suit the clientele—)

(But to think I’d catch Aniki cheating on me— Wait, I mean, witness him indulging in juvenile delinquency...!)

(They’re a good distance away so I couldn't catch every word they were saying, but there’s no doubt that it was about something clearly dangerous!)

(I can tell! I can tell from the atmosphere and mood, and because that Amagi Rinne guy was talking real loud!)

(Not to mention that I can understand what Aniki wants to tell me even if he doesn’t say it out loud, and even more so recently!)

(It’s not like being twins makes us espers, and we can’t use telepathy! But I can tell! And I got a really, really, really bad feeling about this just now!)

(W-wh-wh-what do I do? What should I do? Just what am I supposed to do at a time like this, father, mother!?)

(A-Alright, for now I’ll just call Sakuma-senpai and— Wait, no! I decided not to depend on my seniors like that anymore, and I don’t want the mess that was Setsubun to repeat itself!)

(Uhmm, uhmmm? In any case, I need to keep an eye on this situation!)

(There’s a chance I just got the wrong idea! I mean, there’s been countless times where I've messed up because of weird misunderstandings like that, right?)

(Hinata-kun is way craftier and more street-smart than me, so if something happens he’ll handle it somehow — But in the off-chance that he can’t, then…!)

(I mean, that guy he’s dealing with is Amagi Rinne of Crazy:B, the man who made all of ES his enemy in his rampage, right!?)

(He even led Sakuma-senpai and Vice Prez Saegusa around by the nose just earlier this summer!)

(And one way or another, Hinata-kun is just a high schooler, the same age as me!)

(Besides, I’m his family. I’m Hinata-kun’s brother — Being worried about him is more than enough reason and justification for me to take action!)

(Alright, let’s go~! First, I’ll infiltrate this establishment Hinata-kun’s been brought into! Grant me guidance and protection, o mother in Heaven...!)

——————

* Pizza-manjuu (ピザ饅) are steamed dumplings with cheese and pizza sauce filling, and they look like this: