nazunyan427

Chapter Two

Hop, Step

Location: ES Building Hallway

-A few minutes later, in the hallway of the ES building-

Hajime:

Huff, wheeze… Which way do you think Tomoya-kun went?

Mitsuru:

No idea. These days Tomo-chan’s really been kickin’ it into high-gear—at this rate, he’s even gonna be able to keep up with me!

Hajime:

Somehow I doubt that. Your seniors from the track team are the only ones who stand a chance of catching up with you, Mitsuru-kun!

You’ve managed to get around ES’ ‘no running in the halls’ rule by power walking everywhere instead, but even then I find myself losing sight of you over and over again.

Mitsuru:

Ehehe! Racewalking’s my specialty! You’ve gotta remember to pace yourself, without trynna to rush too much.

Hajime:

I see! How interesting...

Mitsuru:

Don’t just stand there takin’ notes! We’re lookin’ for Tomo-chan, ‘member? He’s usually the one chasin’ after me, so I don’t really know where to start lookin’ for him…

Tomoya:

Urggghhh! Motherf... I can’t believe this!

Mitsuru:

Hey, did you hear Tomoya’s voice just now? I think it’s comin’ from over there.

Hajime:

Let’s go take a look! Thank goodness; we found him much sooner than I thought we would.

Tomoya:

PETER PIPER PICKED A PECK OF PICKLED PEPPERS, PETER PIPER PICKED A PECK OF PICKLED PEPPERS, PETER PIPER PICKED—

Mitsuru:

Has Tomo-chan snapped!? He sounds like he’s chantin’ some sorta weird spell...

Hajime:

Why—why tongue twisters though…? That’s certainly an… interesting way to release stress...

Tomoya:

… Nnn?

Huh? What the—what are you guys doing here? I thought both of you were busy with your own projects today?

Mitsuru:

Yeah, I’ve got somethin’ on pretty much every day! We fiiinally wrapped up shooting for the drama I’m in, but it got so many great reviews that I’m crazy in demand right now!

Hajime:

Haha. I’ve also been roped into some sort of TV show, so Bishoujo-senpai is teaching me the art of making my voice sound as feminine as possible. That’s pretty much what I’ve been up to recently.

Mitsuru:

Is that person okay with you just calling them ‘Bishoujo-senpai’?

Hajime:

Well, that’s what they told me to call them… They really don’t seem to be fond of their real name.

Mitsuru:

Aha. True—for someone so feminine-looking they do have a pretty masculine-sounding name.

Hajime:

Yes. Their stage name is very cute, but we Yumenosaki lot aren’t really in the habit of calling each other by our stage names.

If anything, it feels almost rude to call someone by anything other than their real name.

But anyway, all that aside. Tomoya-kun, what happened? Both of us were just heading back to the agency after wrapping things up for the day only to see you getting all fired up about something! What on earth happened?

Tomoya:

Uughh, sorry about that… I really lost control back there. I know, I know - making a big scene like that isn’t gonna do my reputation any favors...

Hajime:

Oh no, that’s not what I meant. I just couldn’t tell what happened, so I wasn’t sure how to react. I’m worried about you, Tomoya-kun.

You’ve been like this a lot lately. I really wish you wouldn’t keep everything bottled up to yourself. I want you to talk to all of us, as a group!

Mitsuru:

Yeah! Sometimes you try to act a little too much like Nii-chan for your own good!

Tomoya:

Oh? You think I act like Nii-chan? Ehehe…

Mitsuru:

That wasn’t supposed to be a compliment! Are you even listenin’ to us properly?

Nii-chan’s got a ton of life experience, and he’s basically an adult, so he can’t help treating us like kids, ‘cause that’s what we are to him!

But you’re the exact same age as us! Ya hear me? We all took off from the same starting line!

You may be the Leader on paper, but don’t go getting ahead of yourself!

Tomoya:

Ouch, can’t believe Mitsuru’s the one getting mad at me… Yeah, I get it. I’m a total lost cause, right? Sorry, Nii-chan—I’m so pathetic I’m basically an embarrassment to your name!

Hajime:

There, there… Do calm down, Tomoya-kun. I still have no idea what happened, but I want you to know that whatever it was, we will always be here for you.

Mitsuru:

Yeah! Even if the whole world turns their back on you, we’re gonna be on your side no matter what! And you can count Nii-chan in too!

Tomoya:

...

Hajime:

Tomoya-kun? Why are you suddenly crouching down—oh no, now he’s curled himself into a ball on the floor. Tomoya-kun? You have every right to wrap your arms around your knees and rock gently back and forth—that’s totally up to you—but I do wish you’d tell us what was going on. I don’t think I’m smart enough to figure it out myself...

Mitsuru:

Ehehe, me neither! Thinking’s not my strong point!

But only a real idiot abandons their best friend while he’s freakin’ out over who knows what!

Ya hear me, Tomo-chan? Whenever you’re feeling down, I promise I got your back!

Hajime:

Me too! Tomoya-kuuun, if there’s anything I can do—anything at all—just say the word and consider it done! So please cheer up! Come here—hug attack! Squeeeeze!

Tomoya:

Hug me all you want, it doesn’t make me—actually, this does feel kinda nice, huh.

Thanks, you guys… But it just doesn’t feel right to be constantly turning to you two every time I’ve got a problem.

Hajime:

Don’t worry about a thing. Remember when we were little, and I could be such a dummy—I would constantly come running to you about this and that.

This time it’s my turn to support you!

Mitsuru:

No fair! No fair that you guys have all these happy memories from being childhood friends!

Tomoya:

We can’t help that, Mitsuru. But does it really matter? The three of us are in this for the long run —we can just make a ton of new memories!

Besides, no matter how badly you wish you could, we can't go back in time and fix the mistakes we made.

Hajime: