Celestial Rendezvous 4

Eichi: (What... is this?)

(Has Valkyrie always been like this...?)

Mika: ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Eichi: (That kid is quite the eyesore... It’s probably at Itsuki-kun’s orders, but his positioning is too clever—or rather, a complete nuisance.)

(He’s leading Yuzuru and Tori around by the nose with his frankly bizarre movements.)

(It’s throwing them off. But even if I wanted to come to their aid, Itsuki-kun is keeping both me and Wataru in check. It’s difficult to move.)

(What is this? It’s hard for me to put into words.)

(The idea behind this showdown is that two units will perform simultaneously...)

(It’s a similar format to Knights’s specialty, the Duel.)

(Of course, without prior coordination or rehearsal, there’s no way for it to be cohesive.)

(Each unit acts independently as they please.)

(Or, that’s how it’s supposed to be. This live is progressing without any discord at all; we seem almost unified.)

(This isn’t a live showdown; it’s a joint live. A fastidiously, flawlessly crafted one, at that.)

(But this ought to be entirely impossible. So what is this? These developments are an anomaly...)

(It’s unlike any live we’ve ever experienced.)

(On that underground stage... in the dim light hidden away from the world, this strange flower that Valkyrie has cultivated through mysterious methods has bloomed.)

(Oh, it’s repulsive.)

(I provoked them without mercy to bear witness to exactly this. I dragged them onto this stage—)

(But I may come to regret this. This is the sort of poisonous flower one should never ingest.)

Mika: ... ♪

Eichi: (Hm. I haven’t heard him sing in a while; has he always been so skilled at it?)

(In the past, he was rather inconspicuous, like he was Itsuki-kun’s backup dancer.)

(I can understand why his dancing skills are so honed because of that, but his voice is also exceptionally good.)

(No, can I even call this good?)

(It rings almost painfully in one’s ears... It’s a warped, distorted voice, grazing along the edges of stress.)

(It’s the sort of pronounced singing voice that idols seek to correct before anything else, so as to please our audience.)

(Yet they cultivated it, sharpened it, and elevated it to an art.)

(To properly master technique by the book would be both faster and more reliable. They deliberately chose the thorny path...)

(There’s a touch of madness at the end of their tenacious pursuit.)

(They go forth down the unorthodox path from which everyone else averts their gaze... until they’ve arrived at its greatest depths.)

Tori: Urgh...? I don’t get it, this doesn’t make any sense! What the heck are you? You’re in my way!

You’re dancing and singing like us, but it’s just slightly off and it’s creeping me out! And so annoying!!!

Yuzuru: Sir! We’re in the middle of a performance; please concentrate on that!

Tori: But, but! It just feels so weird! I didn’t expect to go up against something like this!

How the heck is he dancing like that?! He’s putting way too much strain on himself! Is he an idiot or something? He’s gonna break a bone that way!

Hey, are you insane? Why would you intentionally make everything harder and less convenient for yourself?

Mika: Ngah? Oh, are you talkin’ to me?

No thanks~ If I talk on stage, Oshi-san’s gonna get real mad at me. ‘Sides, I dunno the answer to that anyway ♪

I’m only doin’ what Oshi-san taught me to do.

Yuzuru: Kagehira-sama. To be honest, I’m rather unimpressed... You seem to possess far more talent than I anticipated.

Which is precisely why you ought to receive proper instruction. If you did, you would be able to receive a proper evaluation later on.

It would greatly benefit your future. I wouldn’t want to see you squander that potential.

Mika: Nngh... I don’t really get all that mumbo-jumbo, Yukkun.

It don’t make all that much sense to me, but Nazuna-nii’s gone now...

And Maddie can’t move by herself. Even if I’m a total failure and a defect, I’m the only doll Oshi-san’s got right now.

On stage, at least. And I can’t lie, that makes me pretty happy ♪

Like, even someone like me can be useful! Oshi-san’s a real genius who can get to heights no one else can even hope to reach. He’s a one-in-a-billion artist!

So I’m gon’ believe in him forever an’ ever!

But Oshi-san does get tired and has to stop workin’ sometimes. That’s where I come in! I can make ‘im tea an’ take care of him. Anything at all, I’m glad to do it!

My wings’re like the dirty feathers of a crow, caked in mud. They’re broke and hurtin’, an’ I can hardly flap ‘em!

But I can still take Oshi-san even just a millimeter higher, even just for a second!

So if I can be even the tiniest bit helpful to Oshi-san, I’d give up anything—my life, my whole existence, everything!

I don’t need no future. I don’t even need no tomorrow...!

Tori: S–so you’re completely and totally crazy... I don’t get you... This is the life your mama and papa gave you, you know?

How can you just throw it all away like that?

(Oh... Is this what Hibiki-senpai was talking about? Someone’s environment shapes who they become.)

(I’m the heir to the Himemiyas. No matter how hard I struggle, it doesn’t change that I’ve been blessed since I was born.)

(So I can’t do it; I could never throw that away...)

(Even if I tell myself I’m trying my hardest! I just don’t want to make Mama and Papa sad. I can’t actually put my life on the line!)