A Job for Children 4

At the same time, outside the nightclub

Mika: Ngah... Mmnngh... Rrghnnghaah...?

This ain’t good. Yuuta-kun and those other guys look like they’re fightin, but I can’t hear a word they’re sayin’.

I could take a paper cup an’ some string an’ make a phone out of it—

Jun: C’mon, no. What’re you doing?

I sorta get your concern for Yuuta-kun, but isn’t it going too far to tail them and eavesdrop on their conversations?

I’ve been trying to act like a wall to hide you so no one on the street calls you out for it.

It’d suck to have weird rumors floating around, right? We’re walking a fine line right now thanks to Crazy:B; everyone’s ridiculously sensitive to criticism and hate.

Mika: Ngah... well then, why’d ya follow me, Jun-kun?

Valkyrie’s no stranger to gettin’ hate, but Eden’s got a beautiful, noble reputation—you gon’ be okay out here?

Jun: You’re deadass? I always associated “beautiful” and “noble” more with Valkyrie, actually.

But you can’t judge a book by its cover, or whatever. This is exactly why people always get disillusioned when we show them what we’re really like. They really get in their feelings about it.

Mika: Ngah, that’s what I’m scared of, since I’m pretty much completely useless at every little thing.

Sometimes they write about me in magazines sayin’ I’m some perfect and powerful artist on par with Oshi-san. An’ when I read that, I can’t help but cringe, ‘cause I’m really really not.

But anyway, you really oughta head back to ES, Jun-kun. They say someone with your standing shouldn’t be out here playin’ around on Time Street at night.

It’s got a reputation for its nightlife. Best you can find around ES, I heard.

Jun: Haha, seriously? Whoever’s saying that’s never hung out in the slums or grimy back alleys before, I can say that much.

Mika: Yeah, it gets you wonderin’. Everyone really likes bein’ clean out here.

Well, whatever. This prolly ain’t your business to get caught up in, Jun-kun. So you don’t need to be out here with me.

All us Yumenosaki folk have this agreement where we gotta look out for 2wink, yanno?

You ain’t from Yumenosaki, anyway.

Jun: Yeah, I’m over at Reimei. But I don’t really get all this, honestly. What do you mean by looking out for them?

I’ve gotten the impression that 2wink can get along just fine in any conditions, without ever needing help from somebody else.

Mika: Sure, they’re tough kids. I can’t really get into the nitty-gritty of it, but we had something called Setsubun Festival...^[1]

During that, well, they had a lot of their problems and troubles come to light. Now it’s pretty much common knowledge, even if it’s contained to just Yumenosaki.

They been through a hell of a lot, basically. Their own parents let ‘em fall through the cracks, but they still held each other up an’ earned money doin’ street performances—

Jun: Whoa? So what, everyone took pity on them and came together to give ‘em a hand?

But that kind of sob story has to be a dime a dozen, right?

Their parents neglected them and as a result they went through hell—sounds just like me, actually. So... why single them out?

Mika: Ngah... Umm, I guess I don’t know what to tell ya when you ask so forward-like.

Oshi-san told me that by helpin’ 2wink, we’re all basically helpin’ the poor, sad kids we used to be.

Jun: Haha. In that case, what makes me feel bad for 2wink is that they’re being used like toys for other people’s masturbatory savior complex.

Kohaku: —What’re you doin’ here, Jun-han?

Jun: Whoa?! D–don’t just sneak up on me, Sakura-kun! Please!^[2]

Kohaku: Sure, but haven’t I told you before? My name ain’t Sakura. Well, I’ll ask you to forgive me; I’ve got a habit of erasin’ my presence when I’m walkin’ around a bustling town like this one here.

Jun: What’s that supposed to mean...? Whatever. Did you need something?

I’m a little busy—just, uh, hanging out actually. Y’know, doing some, um, stuff.

Kohaku: That so. I just saw you crouchin’ in the dark here and thought you might’ve got sick or dropped your wallet.

I guess my concern was unwarranted, though. Sorry about that ♪

Well anyway, we didn’t come out here for you, but more so the shop you’ve apparently got your eye on. Our Rinne-han’s been workin’ there, did you know?

Jun: Oh, yeah. It did look like Amagi Rinne-senpai was in there. That guy’s got a voice that really carries, so it was easy to tell.

Kohaku: Sure does. His snarl ain’t worse than his sting, but the sound of him buzzin’ around still gets real gratin’ on the ears ♪

Jun: ...Oh, hang on, you said “we” just now. Are you here with someone, Sakura-kun? It looks like you’re all by yourself, though.

Kohaku: Huh? I was with Niki-han, but where did he—hello?

I guess the smell of food nearby lured him in and he wandered off somewhere?

Jun: Uhh, Niki... is that Shiina guy, right? He’s around here, too?

It’s not just Rinne-senpai in there, by the way. HiMERU went in a little while ago, too...

So what, is Crazy:B having a live there or something?

I took a peek in there earlier and saw some sound equipment set up... and I saw people who looked like they’re from the entertainment industry scattered in the crowd, too.

Kohaku: Crazy:B just takes things as they come, really.

So that could always be a possibility—unlike y’all, we’re not in the position that we can get up on stage whenever we want to.

But no matter; we can still run riot Crazy:B-style anytime, anywhere.

Our tyrant... Rinne-han ain’t learned his lesson yet; he’s still tryin’ to carry everything all by his lonesome. So we’ve got a mind to give him a li’l sting as a reminder.

Rinne: Tyrant’s a nasty way of putting it, Kohaku-chan. Not that I deny it, but it’s the principle of the thing.

Kohaku: —Rinne-han. It just figures you’d be able to detect me ♪

Rinne: Nah, any regular ol’ idiot would notice you chattering away in front of the club.

But anywho, Meru-Meru kicked my ass out, saying something about my presence making things more difficult.

I ended up taking out the trash and what do ya know? Here you guys are.

Meru-Meru doesn’t make any damn sense, though. Didn’t he drop by to talk to me about something? So why’s he kicking me out all of a sudden?

Kohaku: Ahaha. What HiMERU-han says and what he does don’t always match up.

It throws me for a loop sometimes. He’ll be all like, “An idol needs to get home at a certain time,” but then he hangs around for forever after that.

Rinne: Tell me about it. Dude’s a walking contradiction, I swear—guess he can’t help it with that whole “framework” he’s got.

But whatevs. This place is filthy; you shouldn’t be getting down and dirty like that.

What are you, hoodlums? Lemme at least treat you to a seat inside. There’s air conditioning, y’know.

Or do you regularly go outta your way to live in such uncomfortable conditions?