Chapter 2

Umm, I mean I guess, but… I’m not really sure about it myself, either.

This has never happened to us before. So I have no idea what to do about it…

Aniki is my mirror: If he’s not here with me, I can’t tell what I look like.

Up to now, Aniki’s always showed me what to do and where to go. But lately, it’s like we just keep passing each other by.

It hurts, and I can’t stand it… I don’t get why things turned out like this at all.

2wink is doing fine—We have a good track record, we’re gaining more fans, we’re moving forward…

Our lives are always a hit. So we’re all good there.

I’ve always said I want to be a successful idol, and that I wanted 2wink to get the kind of work everyone else gets.

But that was just me being selfish—I didn’t know my place.

So I can’t turn around and say things didn’t turn out how I wanted.

Because he ran himself ragged trying to grant my every wish…

So it’d be disrespectful to Aniki ‘cause he’s stopped at nothing to give me everything.

Fwaah! Did we manage to get away somehow…?

I’ve got faith in my stamina, but man this is rough!

The more time passes, the more demons turn into enemies… turn into staff, y’know?

So at this point there’s so many people chasing us, it’s hard to avoid them. Seriously, it’s like a big game of tag.

HaHa~ ♪ You seem like you’d be good at tag though, Hina-chan.

Nah~ It may come as a surprise, but kiddie games like this are actually my weak point. I never played around with kids my own age when I was younger.

So I’ve got no experience in this at all. Tag, hide and seek, make-believe… and of those games you play as a kid.

So I’m pretty clueless here… Like what am I supposed to do? I don’t have experience to fall back on.

When we were little, Yuuta-kun and I just played games for us two.

Y’know, like those kinds of weird games that only the two of us could enjoy, and that no one else knew the rules for.

HiHi~ ♪ Are you happy just being a duo, Hina-chan?

Sora only ever played games all by himself at home, you know~?

Huh, really? I wish I’d met you when we were both little kids.

Then maybe we could have grown up more like humans.

Like normal humans, and not some weirdos who don’t even know how to enjoy a game of tag…

Maybe we could have been like every other normal boy.

HuHu~ ♪ But if we were, Hina-chan might not have made friends with Sora, right~?

It’s because we were weirdos that we were able to meet in this strange place, get to know each other, and become friends.

We were able to have experiences no one else could have, and see things no one else could see.

That’s why, even though Sora used to be really lonely… he doesn’t wish he’d met Hina-chan back then.

Because we met in the present, and we became friends in the present.

Sora doesn’t know which path would have made him happier.

But Sora is happy right now! Every single day, he has so much fun it just makes him wanna dance~ ♪

Do you feel the same, Hina-chan?

Are you happy, Hina-chan?

If you’re not, then Sora wants to do something to help~… That’s what magic is supposed to be used for! That’s the way of life he learned from Shisho~

No, Sora is Hina-chan’s friend.

And that’s why he doesn’t want to see you have such a sad color.

Ngh… Just how do I look to you, Sora-kun?

HeHe~ ♪ It’s hard to explain with words. That’s why Sora is always moving around! Running and jumping and expressing himself with his whole body!

So actually, Sora wants to ask you! Hina-chan, how does Sora look to you?

Mm~… Like you’re always having fun, like you’re happy—so much that it makes me jealous. But just looking at you makes me happy too.

HoHo~ ♪ That’s Sora’s magic!

It’s not just Sora who sees and feels things differently, but everyone!

Every single person experiences the world differently from the next. You can’t force people to change it, either.

If you’re in pain, or you’re uncomfortable, you have to change yourself, Hina-chan!

Hina-chan is similar to Sora, so you can watch him as a reference, okay~?

Just like how Sora was able to find happiness, you can too.

Sora wants to help you do that, even if he can’t use a lot of magic yet.

But he can smile! When you see someone smiling, you naturally get happier, right~?

That’s magic too, so Sora will smile lots and lots around you!

He’ll smile, and he’ll sing, and he’ll dance! And when you see that, he hopes you’ll be able to smile too~

Fortune comes to those who smile! HaHiHuHeHo~… ♪