Pointless Death Game 8

A few days pass—midway through the SS Qualifying Rounds

Kaoru: (Yep, I knew it—)

(I’m definitely going a little insane. I’m losing track of what day it is, but we’ve gotta be somewhere near the halfway point.)

(So that means we’ve spent about half of the month-long Qualifiers in the desert.)

(I can’t stop thinking like, what if we’re stuck here until the very end? Is our SS seriously going to end with us endlessly wandering around a desert?)

(No, what if worse comes to worst and we’re stuck here forever—)

(Yeah, no, that’d never happen. Obviously not. But the fact that I can’t deny it is also kinda horrifying...)

(I’ve been trying to guess what the Administration is even thinking here, but I can’t tell if I’ve got the right answer or not.)

(And then the more I think about it, the more depressed I get. And lately we’ve been holing up in the Oasis more and more too, just like the other idols.)

(I’m stuck in this mindset that no matter what we do, it’s all completely useless. I’ve just lost all my motivation.)

(It seems that Rei-kun and them are still converting the SSL$ they get from their videos into Desert Coins and sending them our way every once in a while...)

(So I think we can afford to spend another couple weeks or even a full month at an Oasis without problem.)

(But is this really good enough? To just ride out the storm?)

(I thought I never wanted to do that again.)

(......)

Hinata: Heyyy Mister Hakaze! Look, it’s the pyramid!

According to the other idols we talked to at the Oasis, there’s a rumor that there’s a treasure hidden inside that pyramid or something!

It could totally be fake, but there’s no harm in looking, right? I wonder what it is? Maybe some gold and silver left behind by a pharaoh? The long-lost Ark of the Covenant?

Kaoru: ...You sure have a lot of energy, Hinata-kun.

Hinata: Hehe ♪ Like I said, I’m used to these kinds of harsh environments!

...It’s a hundred times better than when Yuuta-kun and I were wandering the streets with nowhere to go. But I’ve grown up a lot and honed my skills, so now I can do a lot more.

And to top it all off, I’ve got my super nice, super reliable Hakaze-senpai here with me too.

Kaoru: ...You trying to butter me up?

Hinata: It’s just the truth! I’m always indebted to everyone in UNDEAD, and you even helped me out a bunch with the whole Volcano Island thing!^[1]

The fact that there are people who’ll do nice things like that... The fact that there are people who will be kind to us without asking for anything in return...

That’s something I’m really grateful for. At least, that’s what I’ve been thinking nowadays.

I used to think it was more annoying. But now I know that depending on how you look at it, it can also be a blessing—just like the sun’s light.

So I finally realized that no, people aren’t just attacking us with some evil intent behind it.

And so there’s no point in hating them for it.

We’re still just kids, and we can’t survive without letting someone give us a hand.

So it was pretty arrogant to think we could survive on our own, with just us two.

I feel bad for all the people who did their best for our sake. Our dad, our sifu, our friends, our senpais—^[2]

Everyone who works as staff, all our fans... Thanks to the light all these people gave us, we were able to shine, ourselves.

And there’s no point in comparing our light to anyone else’s and saying it’s not good enough. I think it turned out that way just because we turned our backs on the light and didn’t properly accept it.

Kaoru: Hmm... You’re so mature, Hinata-kun.

Hinata: Ahaha! So what, I accept that I’m still just a kid, and suddenly I’m all grown up? What kinda crazy riddle is that?!

Kaoru: No no, I genuinely think you’re amazing. It wasn’t even until I was just about to graduate from Yumenosaki that I realized all of that.

But you’re still younger than me, just a second year. And you’ve already got me beat.

Hinata: Huhhh? Whatcha mean by that? There’s no winning or losing, is there?

Well, probably. Everyone tends to think they’ve lost a game, but they don’t see that nobody else has won either.

Kaoru: Yeah, you’re right. It makes us all look pretty stupid, huh.

Thanks, Hinata-kun. To tell the truth, I was getting pretty discouraged there, but I think talking to you really cheered me up.

Hinata: Ahaha~ ♪ That’s what 2wink’s for—to cheer everyone up and entertain them! Unlike Ra*bits, though, it’s pretty hard for us to heal a weary heart!

Kaoru: Well that’s fine, isn’t it? It’s the same way for UNDEAD. Although we can relieve some stress with our intense music.

But curing someone? Nah, impossible. But I don’t think that means we’re useless.

It’s because there’s a bunch of different kinds of idols that we can all make each other shine brighter without getting in their way, and that the lights we all shine can make everyone happy. Or something.

Hinata: Heck yeah! Let’s fire off our happy happy beam together~ ☆

Kaoru: What in the world is a happy happy beam? You’re just making stuff up as you go, aren’t you?

Hinata: ...Yeah, we really don’t have to do everything on our own.

...Everyone might want some all-powerful, godlike idol who can do anything and everything, but—

Kaoru: Huh? Sorry, the wind picked up a bit so I couldn’t catch what you said!

Wait, crap—there’s not gonna be a sandstorm, right? I don’t know anything about desert weather!

But like obviously if we get caught up in some disaster and things go south, the Administration would send help for us, right?

Hinata: Yeah. They don’t want us to die or anything, probably.

Kaoru: I’d like to think so. I haven’t had it in me to trust them ever since they threw us in a desert, though.

Hinata: For realsies. Seriously, we’re in a situation where we could literally die at any moment. I wanna get out of here ASAP—

Before we get completely devoured by someone’s evil schemes.

jp proofing: Moricchiichan
eng proofing: Soph