Chapter 5

Eichi~! Little Bunny-san! You’re on the stage! Don’t talk about such gloomy things—Smile!

This is the bare minimum etiquette that even a fresh, new idol ought to know!

Now, what shall we perform today?

Because I’ve had my fill of rest and play, I’m brimming with motivation! I feel I could circumnavigate the globe in a single bound!

What the hell are you? How do you even function…?

Shit. It’s like the more excited and energetic you get, the more depressed and exhausted I get.

Ahaha, you must be exhausted from wandering around all this time, right? It’s okay if you want to go rest.

Huh~? But it’s so lonely without Tomo-chan and Nii~chan here! Not that it’s not enough with you here Hajime-chan, but!

I get it, Mitsuru-kun… ♪

Ahaha, I’m good. I know I look like this, but I’ve got a lot of stamina thanks to all the spartan training I got from a certain somebody back when Yumenosaki was the center of the universe.

Is that right? Then you ought to be grateful! Everything I gave you was a far cry from abuse—It was tough love!

In fact, I regret that I didn’t give you enough!

I, too, am changing and growing with each passing moment—You’ll never catch up to me at the rate you’re going!

Oh, how far away you are! You resemble nothing more than a speck, Little Animal-san!

I thought you would reach out and grasp at least the tips of my hair, no? I have waited so long for that joyous moment!

…I wanna say I wish you’d just forget about that, but I can’t.

Unlike this time—This accident where I just happened to end up closer to you—

One day, I really am going to get to where you are, all on my own.

Step by step, together with everyone, always moving forward.

“♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪”

(……)

(That guy’s amazing, huh. Mashiro Tomoya. He went through so much this time around, but he hasn’t faltered at all.)

(He’s singing and dancing without a care, as if nothing ever happened. He put his own emotions aside and—no, he turned all of his misfortune and worries into energy for himself.)

(He sings with a smile, all to entertain his audience.)

(He really is Hibiki-senpai’s apprentice, through and through.)

(Nah, more like his successor—Maybe he really will become someone who can stand side-by-side with Hibiki-senpai one day.)

(For now, though, I still get this impression that he’s just a normal, unassuming guy.)

(Even I cry out when Hibiki-senpai turns his hell training on me, and this guy’s been put through so much worse than I have, in terms of frequency.)

(Maybe this artificial hell in SANCTUARY wasn’t intense enough for him.)

(But I probably wouldn’t be able to handle the Dark Side. I’d just give up and start crying.)

(That’s so annoying. It’s probably the same for Hajime and Mitsuru, too—Everyone my age is growing up so fast.)

(I’m the only one who’s always, always falling behind.)

(It’s ‘cause I don’t want the happiness I have right now to be destroyed, so I can’t take a step forward, away from it.)

……

Bocchama.

Eep?! What? It’s fine, I get it! If I have time to be depressed, I should use it to work hard and keep growing!

Being a kid means I’m still developing, okay! I still have time to get stronger!

I know ♪ And Yuzuru intends to support you in those endeavors for the rest of your life, Bocchama!

Why do you always come on so strong?! It’s fine, okay? You can live your life however you want! I’m doing fine!

You didn’t look fine, though. It made me quite worried. But if that’s what you insist, then it must be so.

More importantly, I’m afraid a situation has presented itself which I’m unable to handle on my own, so I would like to ask your advice on the matter, if that’s all right.

Huh? What is it? Did something else happen? Can’t we just say like, wow! That sure was a great live! and be done with it?

I feel the same way, but it seems we’ve received a visit from some troublesome people who have upended our plans.

Huh…?

Oh! There’s someone off in the wings of the stage! Wait, is that Hidaka-senpai? And Yuuki-senpai, and the new Prez!

Trickstar…?! Wh–why are they here?

There’s no point in asking me. But because they have seeding rights, they are exempt from the rule that disallows us from moving between regions.

Based on that, there has always been the possibility of them appearing anywhere in the nation. As for why they’re here, though—That remains uncertain.

Wh–what do we do? Are they gonna mess things up again? This was all supposed to come to a happy ending with Eichi-sama smiling in the face of triumph!

—Hey.

Uh? Wh–what? Unnngh, I barely have any relation at all to you! Why are you talking to me?!

Oh yeah, sorry I guess. But I can’t let anyone else handle this, so.

…?

By the by, we’re here ‘cause Nazuna told Ukki~ that he caught wind of something or other.

He said something like, we might be able to find Anzu here.

So we nyoomed over here, but I was pretty surprised to find an amusement park here! I already had enough of this weird stuff back in the jungle~ Ahaha ☆

(What? What is this guy? He’s all smiles, but he doesn’t look calm at all! It’s scary… Eichi-sama smiles like that sometimes too, but—)

Well, anyway. Since you’re here, lemme ask you a question real quick.

Uh, I dunno if I should actually be asking you this, but.

…?

Hey, is it true—that my dad might still be alive?