Pointless Death Game 9

Ten minutes later

Kaoru: Aaand we’re good to go.

I got all the tools we might need and even took a short break at the Oasis. I guess we’re all set to explore that pyramid.

Hinata: And we were able to check out the video Yuuta-kun and them uploaded. Ahh~ Seeing Yuuta-kun’s face makes me feel alive again~ ♪

Kaoru: Ahaha, Rei-kun and the others are really starting to work well together too. Watching that video makes me feel like they don’t even need me.

Even without me, UNDEAD will always be UNDEAD.

Hinata: Yeah, I’m feeling a little bummed out, too.

Like what if Yuuta-kun had formed a group with someone other than me? Maybe even a bunch of idols, all of them way better than me...

Maybe he wouldn’t have had to go through as many hardships as we have up ‘til now, and everyone would’ve just loved him, easy-peasy.

I just can’t help but think about it... Oh I mean, obviously I’m joking though!

Kaoru: Hmm. Sounds like a pain to work in a unit with someone in your family. I actually think it’s good for you to spend some time apart every now and then.

Well, I do know you guys have a crazy strong bond, so it’s hard when you’re not together.

But it’d be totally impossible for me to do idol things with my family.

I love my sister a ton and all, but if we were together twenty-four seven, I doubt I’d ever be able to actually let loose.

It’s like, I can never leave my sister alone, right? So I’d just keep nagging her over and over, and she’d start hating me for it, and it’d just be a mood-killer, seriously.

And then imagine if you broke up? That’d be the worst. Working with someone in your family means you’d have nowhere to escape to—sounds like hell to me.

Hinata: ......

Kaoru: Well, everyone gets a good sense of their personal bubble, right? I’m sure you’re pretty lonely right now ‘cause Yuuta-kun isn’t around.

On the other hand, I’m pretty relaxed. It’s almost like this sense of freedom. I don’t wanna always be hanging around those guys like we’re joined at the hip, you know? They’re so loud.

Hinata: ......

Kaoru: ...Huh?

I thought you were being kinda quiet. Hellooo... Earth to Hinata-kun? Hey, why’re you scooching away from me?

Hinata: Hakaze-senpai.

Kaoru: (Nn? What’s going on? Hinata-kun has some weird look in his eye...?)

(What emotion is that supposed to be? I’m not Yuuta-kun, so I can’t tell.)

Hinata: I’m sorry. I don’t actually have any grudge against you, senpai.

Kaoru: ...?

Hinata: Actually, after getting to spend some time alone with you, I’ve even started to like you more than I did before. You’ve always cared about me and helped me out like it was nothing.

Even stuff like how the beds were arranged, what order we took our baths, what food we ate, the conversations we had, the way you’d wipe dirt off my face...

I could feel your kindness in everything you did, Hakaze-senpai. Like you wanted me to be happy, at least while we’re here together—

I could feel all of those emotions. I could tell you didn’t have any ulterior motives, and it turns out you really are a good person at heart.

If it weren’t me, I’d probably have even started thinking you have feelings for me, and then fell in love myself. I guess I finally understand why you’re so popular.

Kaoru: What are you talking about...?

Hinata: I kinda regret all this, but well, my heart belongs to Yuuta-kun.

No—the entire purpose of my life is to guide Yuuta-kun along the right path, since I’m the one who threw him off in the first place.

Sooo, I’m sorry. As long as Yuuta-kun is in the picture, he’ll always be my first priority no matter what.

At this point, he and I have become these grotesque monsters—no, we’ve been that way since we came out of our mom’s belly.

Kaoru: Hinata-kun...?

Hinata: Well, all that to say—adios, Hakaze-senpai!

Kaoru: Huh...? Huh?!

(What? Is that thing in Hinata-kun’s mouth a... Desert Coin?)

(Eugh, spit that out right now! it’s dirty! No, I mean—)

(Wait a sec, isn’t that my Desert Coin?)

(Desert Coins look just like one regular coin, but they’re essentially a microchip.)

(You need to pay for it, but you can combine all of your Coins into one.)

(It’s way too heavy to lug around hundreds of individual coins all the time, after all.)

(So that special Desert Coin that was worth hundreds of Coins—he just stole that?!)

(I had it zipped up tight in one of my pockets just on the off-chance I lost it.)

(But he just took it from me right from under my nose?!)

Hinata: Ahaha! Sorries! I swiped it while we were resting at the Oasis! “You must be sooo tired~ lemme give you a massage~”—remember?

You totally let down your guard, it was a piece of cake! You really are just a well-behaved little rich kid, huh~ You’re never gonna survive out on the streets like that, y’know?

Kaoru: Huh? But—? Why would you—? You just stole the—if you wanted the Desert Coin so bad, you could’ve just asked me!

Or more like, if you never gave me your Desert Coins in the first place, I would’ve run out of options and had to drop out so much sooner.

So why’d you go and take everything back after you lent it to me, now of all times? What point is there in that?

Hinata: Dunno? Ahaha, you really didn’t suspect me even a little, huh... senpai?

Well, I’m kinda happy to hear that. But at the same time, I don’t like being underestimated like that.

Maybe you forgot, but SS is an event to determine the strongest idol.

Only one unit’s gonna be standing at the top. Every single other idol is our enemy—we have to kick ‘em to the curb. You should’ve known that by now.

Or did you think 2wink wasn’t even a blip on the radar for your super-strong, super-powerful UNDEAD?

Kaoru: ......

jp proofing: Moricchiichan
eng proofing: Soph