Antique Legend - Dreams on a Garbage Heap 4

[bakemonoremy]

Collab with Soup

Location: Antique Market Venue

Nearly one hour later. 

Kohaku: Phew, I’m plum tuckered out…

(After that first kid, a whole buncha other folks started crowdin’ around me as well, to the point that there’d be no end to it if I signed autographs for every single one of ‘em. An’ I wasn’t even gettin’ paid for it either, so it’s like I did all that work fer nothin’.)

(Fine by me, though. Crazy:B an’ Double Face don’t usually mingle with ordinary-like fans such as the ones around here, after all.)

(‘Course, we hang out with the ruffians from Beehive an’ the like…)

(But we haven’t really had chances ta meet yer run-of-the-mill moms, dads, an’ children from regular households so far…)

(If I may say so myself, I reckon I’m turnin’ into a weird kinda idol here.)

(But since I wasn’t raised in an ordinary household myself, this may just suit me fine.)

(Maybe I’ve even gotten a step closer ta becomin’ the kinda idol Rabu-han told me about on the internet —  way, way back when.)

Mika: Ahaha, good work, Kohaku-kun♪

Kohaku: Since when were we on a first-name basis… Well, folks can call me whatever they like, I don’t mind.

Mika: Hn? I saw ya chattin’ with a bunch o’ fans and figured ya were thirsty, so I bought some drinks from the food stall here for us t’drink♪ Here, I got us some light bulb juices!

Kohaku: Light bulb…?

Mika: *Gulp gulp*... It’s been gettin’ chilly recently, but today the weather’s real nice. I’ve been talkin’ a lot today too, so I’m all hot n’ sweaty.

Kohaku: So even someone like you sweats sometimes, eh. Ya don’t seem the type fer it.

Mika: Ehh~? I sweat just like any other human, see~? Look look, it’s all sticky♪

Kohaku: Off with ya, don’t go touchin’ me! Just how close do ya think we are?!

Mika: Ahaha, m’ sorry, m’ sorry, I’m just gettin’ a bit excited... but I’m usually only ever like this up on stage. 

Besides, I’ve also been interactin’ with all the kids today. Makes me remember way back when— rather, back when I was a lil’ kid myself.

Kohaku: What the heck. You’re not at all the cool type that people say you are — Well, I already knew that since we’re in the same agency, but still.

So even you were an innocent lil’ kid once, huh.

Mika: Ehh~? I’m just a plain ol’ nimrod— an animal, I say! But Kohaku-kun, even though yer just a lil’ guy, yer all reliable n’ sophisticated♪

Kohaku: Ya may call me little, but we ain’t that far apart in age, I’ll have ya know.

Mika: Still, yer doin’ better compared to when I was around yer age. I didn’t really think about anythin’ when I first started goin’ to Yumenosaki. 

Well, if ya were to ask me if I’m thinkin’ of anythin’ now, I couldn’t say fer sure—

Kohaku: What’s that s’pposed ta mean… People don’t think as much as they like ta believe, y’know.

What we believe to be the process of thought is nothin’ but a mechanism fer the body to confirm physical stimuli an’ keep track of ‘em chronologically.

Mika: ???

Kohaku: Right. I’m sorry fer talkin’ about something so complicated. If ya don’t get what I’m sayin’ you can just say so. ‘Sides, I’m only babblin’ off knowledge I got from the internet, anyhow.

Mika: Really~, Kohaku-kun even uses things like the internet? That’s surprising, cause fer some reason ya feel all old-fashioned.

Kohaku: I do come from a family with a long history, fer what it’s worth.

Mika: Hehh~... I can’t really wrap my head around that ancestry kinda stuff, since I don’t remember who my parents were.

Kohaku: (Right… This fella’s an orphan, ain’t he? That’s why he’s payin’ outta pocket ta help the orphanage he grew up in while they’re in trouble. Reckon that’s what I heard.)

Mika: That’s so cooool, what’s it like? Can you feel the souls of yer ancestors? Do ya pray to em’ on holidays?

Kohaku: Why’s that the one thing ya zero in on… We’re not livin’ in the kinda era where bloodlines an’ ancestry carry weight anymore. Those times are behind us —  or at least people like ta pretend they are.

Mika: Uh-huh. I get that, but my Oshi-san seems t’ come from a family with a lotta prestigious people, and their mansion’s so cool—

Well, I want to understand what that sorta thing’s like. It might be hard cause I was born and raised way different, but I want to get closer to Oshi-san, even just a bit...

Kohaku: Ya seem awfully attached ta this “Oshi-san” of yours — this Shu-han.

Mika: Yup. He’s my everythin’.

Kohaku: ...An’ ya don’t mind havin’ a cordial conversation with me, even though I embarrassed yer oh-so-very precious Shu-han on stage the other day? Yer actions contradict yer words, kid.

Mika: Ngah~? Mikejima-senpai was the only one who was mean t’ Oshi-san the other day— ya didn’t really do anything at the time, Kohaku-kun. 

Kohaku: Nah, I did. I was threatenin’ ya from the shadows the whole time.

Mika: Yeaaah, ya did pull me away from em’, but it would’ve just gotten worse if I did anythin’... 

It was better that ya helped me back there by makin’ me stop, so thank ya kindly~♪

Kohaku: ……… 

Mika: Besides, somethin’ as small as that wouldn’t even leave a scratch on Oshi-san now. He’s dealt with way, way worse, havin’ crawled outta the depths of despair. 

Anyway, those kinds o’ conflicts were everyday occurrences at Yumenosaki... but cause we’ve had peace for a while now, I forgot bout’ em.

And well, if ya just gave up at that stage, ya wouldn’t be able to keep goin’. 

Kohaku: I’ve had my suspicions fer a while, but really, what kinda lawless land is this Yumenosaki?