OUT SIDER 4

Mika: Anzu-chaaaan, trick or treat ♪

Ngah, you’re givin’ me some candy? Well thank ya ♪

This one’s good for my throat. I got a live tonight too, so this’ll help~ Appreciate you lookin’ out for me ♪

Hehe. Since you gave me somethin’ sweet, I have to give you a “treat,” huh? Them’s the rules of the Halloween Party, you say?

So I guess I ain’t got no choice, then~ Rules are rules, after all. Here ya go ♪

Ngah? You don’t like when I pat your head? Sorry, I guess I dunno whatcha mean when you say “treat.”

I just tried doin’ what I like Oshi-san or Nazuna-nii to do to me... This is real hard, ummm...?

Oh, I can help you with work? You think that counts as a treat...?

Huh? What’s with the long face there? I guess I ain’t acted right with you up to now. Do you hare me, Anzu-chan...?

I’m sorry for gettin’ too friendly with you.

That ain’t it? Ngah, did I notice anything differe? Umm... well, that’s a toughie. You don’t look no different.

Oh, I get it: you’re wearin’ a costume. Are you Little Red Ridin’ Hood? How cuuute ♪

Ahaha, you’re more in the holiday spirit than I expected.

Hmm? Those kids in 2wink gave it to you while you was walkin’ around in sweats, so you wanted to show it off?

Ahaha, you’re so girly ♪

I think this is fine. If you just keep workin’ all the time, you’ll get all tuckered out. You gotta take a break every once in a while~

Not that I can say anything, though. But still, this is a festival ♪

Ngah? Sure as sugar, I’m a mummy! Look, it’s the Pharaoh’s curse~ ♪ (strikes a strange pose)

Oshi-san was thinkin’ about a demon more when he made the costume, though.

But it turned out too complicated for the kids to figure, so I asked him to add some more recognizable things to it.

Halloween’s an event for kids, after all.

I’ve always liked it since I was little, too. I’d run all around with the kids who grew up with me ♪

Yep, we’re doin’ a live with Switch tonight.

They’re playin’ magicians, so we’re gon’ be the demons who make a contract with ‘em an lend ‘em our power ♪^[1]

Oshi-san’s been real particular about settin’ it up. He’s a perfectionist, you could say. Or maybe just annoying?

But either way, I still love everything Oshi-san makes ♪

I’m real proud that I get to be one of his creations, too.

An’ sure, I’m a defective failure an’ all, and I ain’t up to snuff in most ways.

But I’mma put my all into playin’ this demon, or else this costume’s gon’ be wearin’ me instead.

Maybe I’ll throw in some dance moves that look like The Exorcist sometime durin’ it~ It’s fun to come up with ideas.^[2]

Mika: ...Yup. I’m takin’ center stage for Valkyrie’s performance this time around.

You should know all about it ‘cause you’re in charge of the Halloween Party.

To tell the truth, I got no confidence for this... Up to now, I just been doin’ whatever Oshi-san tells me to do.

An’ when he does have me do something, he’s real thorough about it. He don’t leave nothin’ out.

I talked about the performance with Switch and had all kindsa ideas for it.

But when I asked Oshi-san what he thought, he didn’t give no reply whatsoever.

‘Course, Oshi-san’s still a perfectionist so he made sure our costumes and our practice an’ stuff was polished to perfection.

But it’s like the opposite of usual—Oshi-san’s actin’ like he’s my doll or somethin’.

Well, he did get a truckload of orders in for Halloween Party costumes and suchlike...

so maybe he was just too busy to worry about me.

But it feels like he’s abandonin’ me or somethin’. It’s makin’ me feel right worried...

But Valkyrie is Oshi-san’s unit. I’m just one of the props he uses to make the stage shine real bright.

Ngah, you think Valkyrie is mine, too?

I mean sure, technically speakin’. But it’s just ‘cause we gotta follow that dang student council’s rules about units.

At the end of the day, Valkyrie is basically an extension of Oshi-san. It’s how it should be too. It’s kinda hard to explain.

If Oshi-san was fixin’ to change what Valkyrie is just for the sake of its future, or even my future...

Well, I’d feel mighty bad about that.

You get what I mean, Anzu-chan...?

Ahaha. Talkin’ with you always calms me down. It’s easy to see you really care about us.

So I thank ya kindly, always an’ forever ♪

It’ll be fine. It don’t matter what Oshi-san’s really tryna get at. I’ll do whatever he wants me to.

I take pride in bein’ his doll.

A long time ago, when I was left behind in a garbage dump...

Oshi-san picked me up, cleaned me off, fixed all my broken parts, and dressed me up in beautiful clothes.

I wanna repay him for that. Even if I got cracks an’ I’m a li’l creepy, this is the whole reason I exist for.