Chapter 2

Hnn… Achoo!

Is someone gossiping about me…?

Oh! Maybe it’s Yuuta-kun?!

I wonder what he’s saying about me~? Whatcha think, Sakuma-senpai?

I think I told you not to look away. We’re working on keeping your line of sight straight.

Right… Sorry about that.

…Okay but like, I’m supposed to be doing every single thing you tell me to do, right? And I’m working super hard to do my training just like you say.

But what exactly am I trying to accomplish here? Or am I supposed to figure that out as we go through the regimen?

In short… yes, essentially. There is something you lack at present.

What do you mean there’s something I lack…? Wait, are you talking about Yuuta-kun?!

Oh, there’s no need to pull that running gag back out. I suppose you’re losing focus at this point, correct? Why don’t we take a short break?

Ngh… But I can do two more sets for sure. No wait, I’m good for three more sets probably.

You may say that, but you’re quite the chatterbox right now. When you’re at the point of trying to distract yourself from your fatigue by talking, it’s best to stop and rest.

It’s not fatigue… It’s ‘cause you’re here, and it’d be just terrible if I passed up the opportunity to talk to you, right right? ☆

Aww, do you really mean that, Hinata-kun? ☆

Ahaha, now that’s the kinda energy I’m looking for~ ♪

So I guess I’ll take you up on your offer, since you’re sooo nice. We can take a break after I finish this set~

Hands on the ground, feet in the air, and hooold this position for thirty seconds…!

~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hmm. Training of this caliber seems to be but child’s play for you, Hinata-kun. And on top of that, you can even hum out a melody.

I’m counting the seconds. The chorus of this song is thirty seconds long… but I guess that’s pretty useless if I’m talking, huh.

Just a few seconds longer. Three, two, one…

Good work, Hinata-kun. You’ve performed the regimen up to this point flawlessly and without issue ♪

Fwah, thanks~

I was expecting it to be this whole big thing, but we ended up just focusing on basic training. So I was able to keep up with it, no sweat.

Oh, but it’s not like I was bored or anything. Lessons and training are all about polishing your art and your skills.

You really get this feeling that it complements your foundation perfectly. And it was surprisingly refreshing to have you teach me just like any other coach too, Sakuma-senpai.

Kukuku, is that so? At your core, both of you are so adept at everything that there likely isn’t much anyone can teach you.

Even last year, you two acted as the instructors during Hidaka-kun’s special training, remember…?

Weren’t you the one who gave the order though? But yeah, we don’t really get to learn much from our senpais that often.

But we did get to train with Hibiki-senpai and those two from Valkyrie. But if you ask whether we got to learn from anyone else…¹

Well, we got to talk with some senpais when we had joint lessons with other units and stuff. And we’ve learned how to play instruments a bit from our senpais when we meet with our circle, I guess?

Of course, if we’re talking about things we’re grateful for, there’s a whole bunch more. Lessons are just one of those.

You two have a unique style in which you improve just by looking at each other, as if you’re using your mirror image as a model to copy.

Yeah… That’s what I think, too.

But during these past few days, getting help from you without Yuuta-kun here—

I’ve realized that when I stare into the mirror doing everything I’ve learned, all I see in the glass is myself, doing the exact same movements.

Mm…

That’s how mirrors actually work. They’re something you use to check how you look, your posture, to see if your body is moving how you want it to and whether you’re doing the right steps…

We’d only ever been looking at each other. But mirrors are supposed to reflect yourself, aren’t they?

And what did you see when you looked at yourself in the mirror, Hinata-kun?

…An image of me, and an image of Yuuta-kun. There are times when we’re moving differently from each other, but that’s why we always look at each other and become each other’s mirror.

But if we keep doing that, then we can only ever be mirrors. Be can never be anything more.

That’s the point of mirrors, I guess? you can look into one to better yourself, but you can never get better than the reflection staring back at you. You can never grow.

The more we try to keep a connection between the real and false images, the more we take for granted that we’ll always match each other…

One of us grows a bit, then the other grows a bit to keep pace.

If we keep doing that forever, we’ll never get better than the other. We’ll never make any big leaps forward.

Right now, we’re on a pretty stable path… The opportunity for us to make huge strides together doesn’t come around too often.

Which is why, in order for 2wink to reach greater heights, one of us has to grow a lot. That’s what I’m trying to do right now.

Just like when we were separated during the SS Qualifying Rounds. We’re separating ourselves now to find a way to evolve.

…It’s no easy task to split the mirror that’s held you both together all this time.

No, that mirror’s had cracks in it for a good while now, probably…?

But even so, it’s a sturdy mirror—It hasn’t shattered yet. So in order to finally get the strength to break it completely, I’m borrowing your power, Sakuma-senpai.

I wanna give Yuuta-kun a good surprise and show him what his onii-chan can do. So you dare let up on me!

…Now that I’ve taken up the job, I intend to see it through.

I’ll draw out your full potential and mold you into the strongest Hinata-kun possible… ♪

Yahoo~! I’m counting on you!

I’m still sad to be apart from Yuuta-kun though~! I wonder what he’s doing right now… and who he’s doing it with.

You don’t even know where he is?

Nope, we’re being really thorough about all this… Yuuta-kun doesn’t know I’m with you either.

You are really giving it your all, even though I imagine you must be worried about what your beloved brother is doing.

I’ll have to match your spirit even more. Now then, how much can I nurture you before Chocolat Fes arrives?