Hot Limit - Comeback Elegy 1

[bakemonoremy]

Location: Meeting Room

- Back in the present. Shiina Niki is lost in thought as the briefing session goes in one ear and out the other for him -

Niki: (After that — )

(I woke up, enticed by the smell of something tasty. When I opened my eyes, a vast array of food was spread out before me. Naturally, I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven for real.)

(I thought God had witnessed the good deeds I did in the moments before my death and, forgiving my father’s sins, allowed me, his son, into the Heavenly Kingdom.)

(But I was so wrong~... As it turned out, all the ingredients lined up around me were things that Rinne-kun had extorted from residents of my neighborhood.)

(That criminal~! And by the time Rinne-kun explained that part to me, I had already stuffed myself to my heart’s content with those raw ingredients…)

(Of course, I couldn’t exactly barf the food back up at that point, so I had no response for Rinne-kun when he told me “Now you’re my accomplice ♪”.)

(I thought I was gonna be arrested along with him if the truth got out…)

(And I thought that I’d be causing trouble for my father, who was finally on his way to recovery, and my mother, who supported him, if I became a criminal.)

(So, since I thought that Rinne-kun had dirt on me, I couldn’t defy him at all, and little by little…)

(Just as Rinne-kun had wanted, we did a lot of research and ended up trying to become idols together.)

(One thing led to another, and here we are now. Ahh~, in hindsight, picking up Rinne-kun back then really was the crossroads of my fate.)

(I should’ve just ignored him, gone home and ate my nikujaga~.)

(I never should’ve let him in my house, never should’ve made that meal for him and never should’ve decided to let him eat it~.)

(If I’d left Rinne-kun to die back then, it definitely would’ve been to the benefit of all of humanity! That guy really causes nothing but trouble for others!)

(...But then, much later, I was chatting idly with my neighbors when I found out the truth of the matter.)

(Rinne-kun might’ve acted tough and said that he “extorted the food”, but in reality, he prostrated himself and earnestly implored them to share their ingredients with him.)

(Surprisingly, people can’t really turn someone down when they beg in earnest, and there’s kindness to be found everywhere*... Besides, we live in an age of plentiful food, and so everyone shared small portions of their foodstuffs, bit by bit.)

(It was actually such a heartwarming story, and yet…)

(I don’t know if Rinne-kun was trying to act all cool or what, but he’d tricked me by using criminal-sounding words like “extortion”.)

(Rinne-kun probably just wasn’t able to escape the fetters of the education he’d received from a young age, and the habit of conducting himself as a “chief”.)

(He must’ve thought that a chief — that is, a king — may extort people, but would never resort to begging.)

(I’m sure he couldn’t have told me that he knelt down before them and pleaded with them to share their food. It would’ve been way too embarrassing.)

(Even if it was in order to save me — Even if his actions were free of sin, completely harmless and virtuous…)

(He must’ve believed that if he acted unbefitting of a chief, he’d lose the right to be one — No, he must’ve instinctively feared that he’d turn into nothingness the moment he did that. Isn’t that right, Rinne-kun?)

(You’re such an idiot, always putting on airs. Well, I guess that makes me the even bigger dumbass for believing the lies of a dumbass like you.)

(Because I’m an idiot... Back then I was so afraid of the police that I didn’t leave my house in days.)

(Well, Rinne-kun stayed at my place after that, and I guess the time spent playing games he brought over from god-knows-where and all that was a lot of fun.)

(But it’s really a bad habit of mine to get enticed by the fun times and food right before my eyes and neglect thinking about anything all that deeply~.)

(That’s exactly why I always get tricked and used by smarter people.)

(...Well, I guess I’m fine with that, though. As long as I’m useful, I’ll be needed, and I’ll stay well-fed and alive.)

(I won’t complain if I can survive, at the very least. As long as I can eat tasty food every day—)

Rinne: Oi, Niki. Ya listenin’ to the briefing at all? Aah?

Niki: Huh? Of course not, why do you ask?

Rinne: What do you mean, “of course not”, asshole?

Take this seriously, alright? I know you can do it if you try, Niki...♪

Niki: I wonder about this all the time, but really: What do you base this strangely high opinion of me on, Rinne-kun?

Rinne: Your everyday behaviour. Nah, it’s rule of thumb, based on my experiences with ya ♪

Anyway, as I explained earlier, we wanna form a bond with that bigshot producer, Anzu-chan.

And to make that happen, we’ve gotta snag this project no matter what.

Anzu-chan’s a real popular one, so jobs like this don’t usually open up to the common raffle.

She prolly doesn’t have the time for that, and I bet she’s got way more famous idols linin’ up ‘round the block to get produced by her anyhow.

She’s completely booked for the foreseeable future, so newbies like us don’t get their turn.

Which is exactly why this project is our first and final chance.

Take extra care to conduct yourself accordingly, will ya? That goes for you guys too, Kohaku-chan, Merumeru.

Make sure ya appeal to Anzu-chan, ‘cause if we can each leave an impression on her, Crazy:B’s gonna get chosen to carry out this project.

All we gotta do to win is make Anzu-chan want to place her bets on us ♪

——————-

* Faithful readers may recognize this as our old friend, 渡る世間に鬼はない (There are no demons (bad people) in the world). This often comes up in Enstars stories and seems to be one of Kohaku’s favorite sayings, which he brought up in his original idol story when relying on a stranger’s kindness (Anzu), and later decided is actually untrue in Honey Bee Chapter 6. Something tells me we will see this one come up again and again in Crazy:B stories that often revolve around society and its morals, so keep an eye out!