Chapter 1

“♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪”

(Now that I’ve stood on stage at Beehive a few times, I’ve really gotten a feel for the audience that comes here, and I know how they’ll react to things.)

(We’re already used to drawing in people who have no interest in us. We know how to turn heads.)

(So I’ll use all the experience I got on the streets… Even if it’s just me up here, I’ll really get this place hopping.)

—So how’d I do today?

Hmm yeah, well if you ask me—

HiMERU-san.

You’re not asking me?!

Yuuta, you should wipe your sweat off first. HiMERU will tell you his impressions after that.

Got it~

You’re ignoring me too, Meru-Meru?!

Be quiet, Amagi. Yuuta is trying to talk to HiMERU, so why don’t you go help clean up?

Now hang on a sec, I have every right to listen in on your conversation. I’m the one who set this whole shindig up for Yuta, remember?

…When you brought us to Beehive, you only gave a rough explanation of what we were doing.

Just what do you intend to accomplish by lending a hand to Yuuta as an individual?

Nothing, I guess? I only talked to him pretty much as a joke, and then Yuta just went and took my offer.

So I figured hey, it’d be pretty sweet if I got to see something cool come out of it ♪

And in return, he said he’d tell us all about that Chocolat Fes thing or whatever it is…

HiMERU-san, I’m all dried off now. So can I ask how my performance was?

—First, there were many instances where you weren’t looking out to the audience, or even paying attention to them. That’s certainly a point of concern.

You might have noticed this for yourself during your first performance, since it does seem to be improving each time you’re on stage.

But despite that, you still often turn to look next to you or over your shoulder. During those times, your attention is torn away from the audience.

If you want to satisfy your audience on your own, you should always be focused on them.

You need to be able to give your attention to every corner of the venue, from one end to the other.

……

If HiMERU were to evaluate you as a solo idol right now, he would not give you a passing grade.

Wow, harsh… But thank you.

It means a lot coming from someone who actually has stood on stage as a solo idol.

It’s not that significant. You’re already aware of these things, so HiMERU was just adding in his own perspective.

You might not think it, but there aren’t a lot of people who’d actually tell it to us straight like that. So in a way, it’s actually refreshing to hear.

Do you have anything to add, Amagi? Your own opinion from the perspective of a solo idol, perhaps.

You said it all already, didn’t you Meru-Meru? And besides, Yuta prolly listens to what you have to say way more than he listens to me.

Well, of course.

Did you really have to say it in sync?

(…So HiMERU-san’s saying I’ve got to fix that by my next performance, huh.)

(I can do all the moves without looking, but it’s still ingrained in me to make eye contact with Aniki as part of the performance.)

(So even though I know it’s coming up, my body always just turns toward him.)

(It’s a habit to make eye contact… I guess. But if I can’t shake it, I’ll never pass the test.)

You seem to be deep in thought, but don’t you think you should rest for today?

The stage is much bigger when you’re on your own. You should keep in mind that you’ll be more fatigued than you typically would be.

Sure thing~…

You must be exhausted, but you’ve still got the energy to reply… Actually, you even look like you could go another round.

Ahaha, well yeah, I think my body’s way more tired than usual.

But weirdly enough, I still feel really light. I guess it’s because I know what I’ve gotta do?

I just feel like we’d reached the limits of what we could do together. But as an individual, there’s still so much I’m lacking and still so much I can fix…

Getting on stage over and over again lets me find where I can improve, and then all the issues I’m having become clearer.

So now I’ve got the foresight to know what I need to do before my next performance. I guess it’s making me feel more optimistic.

Listening to you now, you still sound like some happy-go-lucky “good kid.”

What happened to being a “bad kid” and biting back at your precious Aniki?

Pretty sure I’ve already got my bad kid badge for coming to a place like this without even giving my family a heads up…

If, while I’m training separately from Aniki, I keep growing and evolving to the point where we can no longer match pace as a unit of twins…

At that point, I just might have really become a bad kid… ♪

Is the end result of your efforts becoming this “bad kid?”

My whole thing is just that I want to give him a good shock.

—And by “him” you mean Hinata, correct? If that’s the case, you should be able to surpass him in training if you just know his situation.

Aww, that’s so nice of you to say, Meru-Meru ♪

But unfortunately, Yuta’s been too busy spending all his time with us, so he’s barely had any time with Hina recently.

You don’t have to take him so seriously, HiMERU-san.

That much is obvious.

It’s true we’ve been keeping our distance, but we still see each other at work and school and stuff. We’re only hiding our training progress from each other.

—So you mean to say that you don’t even know what Hinata has been doing?

…Well, he did come out and proclaim he’s definitely not gonna lose to me. So based on that—

I’m sure he has a plan to really surprise me.