Melée 14

Jun: Sooo, I don’t think I get it. What does that have to do with us, Hidaka-sensei?

You looked after me while we were in Lilith together, so I’d do anything you asked regardless of what team we’re on, whether we’re friends or enemies, but...?^[1]

Seiya: You’re a good kid as ever, Jun-kun. That mentality will get you squeezed dry by selfish adults, so you’d do well to be careful.

Jun: That’s really not your business.

Seiya: Fufu. But decent adults will like you all the same, so I don’t think this is something to fix.

People who do things in half-measures are by far the most uninteresting, the most worthless, and the most dangerous people.

Anyhow, I might just get myself assassinated today by someone very scary—

So, if that happens, I have something important to give you both. If I am eliminated, please give this to someone with authority and have them make it public.

Jun: Huh? Eliminated? What the hell do you mean by assassinated...?

Seiya: Fufufu. This takes me back. During SS last year, I also entrusted the very same relics of the past to my incompetent son.

History repeats itself—or rather, humans can never break their habits.

Well, that’s exactly why I have such a good read on people.

But at the rate we’re going, we idols will probably be replaced by computers within the next fifty years.

Jun: (H–he always just blurts out whatever’s on his mind! He’s not even interested in having a conversation!)

(I mean, it’s the same way with Ohii-san. And it’s been getting so much worse lately, too—)

(He feels distant, similar to how he was when we first met. Honestly, it’s like I’m being forcefully reminded that this is who Tomoe Hiyori really is.)

(Gives me the creeps. His eyes keep glossing over me, like he’s so high up in the sky that he can’t see me at all!)

A memory—a few days ago, in Tomoe Hiyori’s room at Starmony Hall

Hiyori: ... ♪

Jun: Ohii-saaaan? Whatcha doing? It’s almost time for us to meet up. If we don’t show, Ibara’s gonna freak out on us, y’know.

Hiyori: Aha ☆ Wouldn’t that be a dream! He’s becoming a bit of a control freak lately, and it’s making me all sad.

If I keep ignoring him like this, I’m sure he’ll come bow before me begging me please, please listen to what I say!

He may be our producer, but that doesn’t give him the right to think of me as being beneath him. I’m not going to come at his beck and call.

Jun: Sigh... Well, yeah, Ibara’s been a little unbalanced lately. I don’t know what he’s so worried about.

Hiyori: Maybe he’s traumatized by our loss last year, even though he put so much effort into his strategy.

Jun: You really think he’s that sensitive? I see him more as a tough guy who can get back up laughing no matter how many times he’s knocked down.

Hiyori: Could be, but that doesn’t mean he’s not hurting or bleeding out inside.

Jun: ...?

Hiyori: Anyway. Jun-kun, you always have the best timing—would you do something for me?

Jun: Huh? What, you want me to stand in line to get you some new limited edition thing from a luxury brand?

Hiyori: This is what I’m asking for. Hand these out to everyone else on our team on the day of the SS Finals. Can you do that?

It’d be a pain to hand them out myself, and you’re such a good kid that people will surely accept them more easily from your hands.

Jun: ? What is this, a bunch of cards...? New Year’s is coming up, is that it?

Hiyori: These are oracles. To put it simply, they’re a prophecy of sorts that detail exactly what each of us should be doing during the SS Finals.

Jun: Oracle? A prophecy... Did being part of Eden and Eve make you some kinda religious nut, Ohii-san?

Hiyori: I am not Tatsumi-kun. No, I got these from Nagisa-kun a little while ago.

He told me that how I interpret them and how I handle them is up to me.

...They may look like tiny, flimsy postcards to you, but they’re bigger than Mount Fuji to me.

Jun: I dunno how big Mount Fuji is, but I get what you’re trying to say.

Hiyori: Good. They’re filled with heartfelt messages from Nagisa-kun. I plan to tweak them a bit, and then we’ll christen them as oracles and send them on their way.

Even though we lived as a family for such a long time, I still have difficulties understanding Nagisa-kun’s feelings, so I can’t say I’ve interpreted them perfectly.

But even if I got some things wrong, I at least have the gist of them.

Hiyori: There may be someone other than me who will notice that he is suffering the greatest of us all right now—someone who may even stand beside him as his ally.

I’m writing these with the belief that it might be true.

I’ll sow those seeds with my hope. It is our role to build a heaven on earth through this.

Or more like, it is only us, Adam and Eve, who have gained the wisdom necessary to deny God—our enemy.