Human Comedy - Epilogue 2

[bakemonoremy]

Location: Repayment Festival Stage (Va)

Mika: I loved my hometown, an’ I was the one who worked hardest to support those kids, so it wasn’t an easy thing t’ just up and leave…

I never even really tried to find foster parents for myself, ‘cause I worried that’d be the same as abandonin’ the other kids there.

No matter what, I never wanna throw no one or nothin' away… ‘Cause I know just how terrible that feels.

Even when my stuff got all worn out, I’d always just fix it up an’ keep usin’ it anyway.

But one day, after endurin’ for so long, I just couldn’t take it anymore...

That night, I ran away. I had no idea what I was doin’, and just kept walkin’ on and on like I was in a right trance.

That’s when I met ya, Oshi-san.

I thought my eyes went funny or somethin’. The clothes ya wore were so beautiful, I couldn’t think of ya as the same kinda creature as me, in my shabby rags…

Ya know what? I even suspected ya might be some kinda god ♪

Shu: ...You’ve told me this story countless times, so I’ve tried my best to recall what happened, but… Dare I say this was around the time both of us were in primary school?

I’ve always had a proclivity for being a recluse, but there was just one time Kiryu and I took a train to nowhere, like complete morons…

By the time we got caught, we had already left the prefecture.

That must’ve been when we met, probably. Come to think of it, I do remember talking to some kind of ominous, ghost-like thing back then.

Although I was under the impression that it was a hallucination caused by all the anxiety and exhaustion I felt.

So that was you, Kagehira. I’d forgotten all about it…

Everyone was tremendously angry with me for all the trouble I caused them at the time, so this story had become a shameful memory for me. That’s why I had sealed it deep within the depths of my mind.

Mika: Ahaha. That's real mean of ya, even though I recognized ya right away.

Oshi-san, once ya started high school, ya became famous enough t’appear on TV a couple o' times, right? When I saw that, I thought, “Ooh, it’s the god from back then…”.

So I came to meet ya. To tell ya the truth, I never even planned t'be an idol at first. I really just wanted t’see yer beauty up close one more time.

Just like a child reachin’ out his hand towards the sky while gazin' at the stars.

And now, just like that, I’m at the point where I’ve got heaps o’ fans who’re all rootin’ for me… Life sure is funny like that, ain’t it, Oshi-san?

Shu: Indeed. And as delightful as it is at times, it can be just as difficult at others.

Just thinking about how it will continue on like this until we die makes me feel fed up with it already… But, well, since we’ve been given these lives, we have a duty to live them.

Fortunately, we were born as humans, and as such we possess the ability to create art.

So let us take all of God’s malevolence, and all the absurdities of this world, and turn them into artworks to be admired.

Mika: Yeah. ‘M sure there’re folks whose souls can be saved by ‘em, just like mine was.

Oshi-san. Actually, I did take that order from ya at face value and returned t’my hometown, intendin’ never to come back here…

I couldn’t figure out yer real intentions. I left my brains on the ground somewhere, after all.

But when I returned there, all the kids were overjoyed. They were gatherin’ around me and praisin’ me to the high heavens, beamin' from ear to ear as they clung to me.

All of them were chatterin’ at me like lil’ birds, even though I never even asked ‘em nothin’ yet.

They told me how they’re always watchin’ me on TV, and secretly saved up their pocket money t’come to one of our lives…

How they’re buyin’ up our popular outfits, accessories, and toys together.

And they said they always brag t’folks, like, “That super popular idol from Valkyrie, Kagehira Mika? That's our Mika-nii!”.

They kept going on 'n on like that, with that sparkle in their eyes…

So how could I tell ‘em that my partner got fed up with me an’ threw me away, an’ that it made me so sad that I couldn’t take the pain anymore an’ just ran away?

That’s why, after talkin’ and playin’ and singin’ with ‘em for a lil’ while, I jumped right on the next bullet train back.

I even bought lotsa souvenirs at the station on the way home.

An’ then, while the train tossed me ‘round, I thought about all kindsa stuff.

I came up with what coulda been yer real intentions… An’ I figured out what I wanted to do.

Just like that, the pitch-black curtain before my eyes lifted all at once, an’ I could finally see in front of me. Before I knew it, I was holdin’ a needle in my hand an’ sewin’ away.

I was filled right up with a sudden urge t’create, and my head was chock-full o' ideas.

I still dunno who I am, or what I’m thinkin’, ‘cause I’m a dummy, see. All this time I was in a trance, doing nothin’ but clingin’ to Oshi-san, who I love so much.

But I think… I am capable of changin’, even if it’s just a lil’ bit. ‘Cause right now, I got an ambition; a dream to strive for.

I’ve finally found what it is I wanna express; the question I wanna ask the world.

That’s why, just like you, I’m capable of creatin’ art. I can become an artist, I can even become human… And that way, I can stay by yer side, Oshi-san.

Ain’t that amazing? The moment I realized that, I brightened right up!

Shu: ...What is that dream you speak of? What is it that you want to express?

When a person has an eye for beauty, it’s common courtesy for them to analyze an artist's work in order to discern these things without asking directly.

But since the person in question is standing right in front of me, I shall disregard manners and inquire for my own amusement.

Mika: Okay. Umm, it’s still kinda abstract, though.

When I saw the kids from my hometown, I noticed how they were all kinda imitatin’ me.

Even though yer superior t’me in every way, so much cooler an’ all charmin’... They only imitated me.

Maybe they feel closer to me, an’ find it easier to relate t’me.

Could be they reckon they can become just like their "Mika-nii," 'cause we grew up in the same place an' all, while someone like Oshi-san's too far off for 'em to reach.

They all said that they’ll become idols, too… That they’ll be just like Mika-nii.

Hearin’ that made me so happy… I thought, “Aah, I really have become an idol, huh…”.

Oh, how their eyes sparkled with aspiration an’ admiration, overflowin’ with love…!

I want those eyes to keep watchin' me even more! Those very eyes…!

Hey Oshi-san, d'ya understand my feelings? D'ya understand my dream?

I’ll shine for those kids! Just like Oshi-san’s my light, I’ll become theirs!

I’ll become the light for all the hurtin’ children who’re just tryin’ to endure their lives, day after day after day!



Mika: I’ll become their star! That’s what inheritin’ Valkyrie means to me! It’s probably what yer hopin’ for, and it’s my wish an’ my dream!

I’ll make it come true, no matter how long it takes!

Happy times can last forever 'n ever, an’ humans can reach the stars in the night sky!

Just like how I met ya, Oshi-san! Just like how I get to stand beside ya right now!

Dreams come true and stars are within reach! That’s what I wanna prove to all those kids cowerin’ in the darkness!

That’s the reason for my existence! The value of my life...!

...Whaddaya think, Oshi-san? Maybe I’m sayin’ somethin’ weird?



Shu: Not at all? You’ve done an admirable job thinking that up with that dim-witted head of yours. Except… I’m not the one you should be asking that.

Pose that question not to me, but to all the people in the whole world… Using the opus you’ve created, of course.

If no one else, you’ll be able to show the vulgar masses a piece of art they can comprehend, won’t you?

Come, Kagehira! Or do you intend to keep on chattering idly? But how could you, when the most priceless, exceptional, blissful time of our lives is right in front of us!

Let us sing with everything we’ve got! Let us captivate each and every person here, using our performance that we’ve devoted our irreplaceable adolescence to creating!

Let us present to them a supreme work of art! Valkyrie’s ensemble; the ensemble of you and I… Let it resound forevermore!