Melée 13

At the same time. In the White Team’s green room at the ES Dome

Jun: So if you’re up for it that’d be awesome, Kagehira-san.

Mika: I mean, sure thing. But do y’all really want Valkyrie performin’ right off the bat?

You think everyone watchin’ will be able to handle it if we drop ‘em into our world at the very start of things...?

Jun: Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. But it’s a risk we’re willing to take.

Mika: What do you mean, maybe they won’t?! Naw, I don’t want us to be reason the White Team loses!

Jun: Oho? You saying you don’t think Valkyrie has the power to captivate all the first-time viewers across the nation in one go?

Mika: Ngah?

Jun: That’s fine, then. I’ll just go find another unit and ask them instead.

Valkyrie’s always talking hot shit, but I guess it’s just lip service—

Mika: ...... (shoves him against the wall)

Jun: ...Uh. O–obviously I don’t agree with any of that, y’know?

Valkyrie’s the powerhouse that snatched victory at Tohoku and made it to the Finals, right? They wouldn’t talk themselves up without anything to back it~ ♪^[1]

Mika: Y–yeah, for sure! We’ll kill it out there! An’ we’re gon’ be so perfect, I feel sorry for anybody comin’ after us!

Ain’t no one’ll be satisfied with nothin’ else once they get a taste of us!

Jun: Yep, make sure you come out swinging full force ♪

Or well, honestly speaking, the SS Finals are formatted where the “representative” units get replaced one after another—

So throwing yourself in the ring at the start is pretty much the only way Valkyrie’ll have the setup time to actually construct your “world,” right?

Mika: Ngahh, well I s’pose that’s true. It’d suddenly get to be our turn, and we wouldn’t have time to set up our stage at all, yeah.

But even then we’d still have a good bit of our usual charm. It’s just that without the time to prepare it wouldn’t be as intense.

Jun: Exactly. So this is the best time slot for you guys, and you’re the best reps we got.

The Red Team’s gotten all chummy, too, so I bet they’re gonna pull the same kinda stunt.

So the White Team has to polish up our strats to the max.

If we don’t think this through and just send whoever calls dibs on stage, we’re gonna get caught up in their schemes and fail epically.

Mika: Right. This is a team battle. We can definitely win this, but not if we’re selfish about it. Teamwork makes the dream work, or somethin’. Like baseball.

Jun: Baseball...?

Well whatever, I’m glad I could bring you around to this.

And sorry, I don’t mean to make you my mailman, but can you let Itsuki-senpai know about this too?

Mika: Sure thing~ It’ll go better if I’m the one who tells him, anyhow.

Jun: Yeah, probably.

I’m pretty sure we told him this in that “oracle” letter thing, but I have a hunch he’d just rip it up without ever reading it—so, y’know, just in case.

Mika: Uhh, it depends who’s sendin’ Onii-chan the letter, but pretty much, yeah.

Jun: Onii-chan...?

Mika: Ngah, oh yeah! I can call him Oshi-san again!

Jun: Ahaha, you got some pretty weird orders, didn’t you Kagehira-san?

Mika: I’ll say. I can’t switch my thoughts around none too easy, so I was strugglin’.

For a while after I got outta that SHINSEKAI, I couldn’t figure what was real and what was fake. I kept wavin’ my hands around like it would do some kinda magic. Talk about embarrassin’.

But I got to see all my dreams with my own eyes this way, and I got all sortsa new ideas from it too. So I’d say it worked out. It’s like my mind just went off all on its own.

Jun: Hmm? Well, I’m looking forward to your performance today, then ♪

Mika: Glad to hear it! You gotta come see it. We been gettin’ better an’ better this whole time.

Seiya: —I didn’t expect my adorable children to be so close!

Mika: Your kid ain’t even here though?!

Jun: Whoa, you jumped right into the straight man—just what I’d expect from a Kansai man...!^[2]

Mika: Ehehe. I like you, Jun-kun, ‘cause you give me lotsa compliments ♪

Jun: I like you too, Kagehira-san, since you’re easy to talk to~

Anyway, did you need something, Hidaka-sensei? You’re the Red Team’s support, right? Are you scoping out the enemy’s movements?

Seiya: Not at all. I’m not putting much effort into SS this year, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to spy on you. You kids can keep on as you wish.

Our era has long since passed. I can’t say I’m overjoyed that I’ve been branded a “support” and made to participate in this.

But, if he’s going to show his face, I have no reason not to give him a little competition.

Mika: What does that mean...?

Seiya: Ahaha. No need to be so on guard, Mika-kun. Calling you my successor was just a cover in the end—

I have no desire for you to become anything like me, so don’t worry so much.

I don’t have the skills to train others, and I know you have your own mentor.

Mika: Huhhh...? The heck’re you sayin’?

Seiya: —We idols have a common enemy who we must defeat.

It was a tactic I used to deceive that enemy and have him let down his guard, so that we can cut off his head. Right now, I can only say this much. Or perhaps I’ve already said too much.

Mika: ...? ...?