nazunyan427

High 5

Prologue

Season: Summer

Writer: Akira

Location: MDM

-The second half of MDM—Ra*bits takes the stage-

Tomoya: 

Tomoya sings along to a lively melody.

(Alright! Everything seems to be going smoothly. Come to think of it, it feels like the first time in forever since we’ve felt so, well, us.)

(How many months has it been since we’ve all stood on stage together like this?)

(It sure feels great having Nii-chan back—even if he is only temporarily appearing as a surprise guest.)

Nazuna:

Nazuna belts out his lyrics; his voice sweet yet husky.

Tomoya:

(There’s no way we can go wrong with Nii-chan leading the way—just like he always did back at Yumenosaki.)

(Ahh, this really is how Ra*bits should be! It’s like the metaphorical hole in our hearts has finally been filled! I feel like I could float on air; I’m practically skybound!)

Mitsuru:

Mitsuru’s cheerful voice rings throughout the auditorium.

Tomoya:

(Mitsuru’s always so full of energy! He’s like the life of a party we’ve all been invited to.)

(He’s as bright and cheerful as a little kid—and his positive energy is contagious!)

(Our fans won’t ever lose their sense of childlike wonder so long as we’re around. No matter how old you get, you should never stop having fun.)

Hajime:

Hajime sings with a voice as pure as the driven snow.

Tomoya:

(But while dashing around all over the place with Mitsuru can be fun, not everyone has the energy to constantly keep up with him.)

(A short break never hurt anyone—and who better than Hajime to calm you right down?)

Hajime:

Hajime’s singing voice is sweet and gentle— Tomoya immediately feels all tension melt away.

Tomoya: 

(“How are you feeling? Do you need a little break? How about some freshly-brewed tea?” Talk about hospitality at its finest! Hajime really knows how to soothe the soul.)

(My heart feels at peace just by looking at him.)

(Then once all of your fatigue fades away, it’s time for Mitsuru to take you by the hand and lead you to a bright and shiny wonderland.)

(A perpetual motion machine of happiness—that’s what Ra*bits is all about.)

(I’ve had the time of my life with Mitsuru and Hajime; dashing around without a care in the world, leaping and bounding from one dream to the next, singing and dancing to my heart’s content.)

(We began our journey from the lowliest rank at Yumenosaki, and put everything we had into establishing who we are.)

(But things are different now—we’ve grown up and gotten a whole lot stronger.)

(The memories we’ve made together are as bright and sparkly as diamonds. I want to share the happiness we’ve found with the fans who’ve supported us all along.)

(Everything’s worked out well so far, but it's time to take it to the next level and show the world what we’re truly capable of!)

(I don’t want people to turn to us just because we’re the only male idols around who prioritize cuteness above all else… No.)

(I want our fans to choose us FOR us and fall head over heels! That’s the kind of fan base I wanna build! That’s not too much to ask, right?)

(There’s already so many people who love and support Ra*bits even now. It feels super validating!)

(We’ve definitely seen an increase in both fans and job offers. No one sees us as "helpless newbies" anymore.)

(In fact, if the industry kept treating us as newbies, our fans would probably start feeling uneasy too. I'm sick of being just "average" as well; we all are!)

(We’re gonna shoot for the moon, just like all of the other idols around us! And we’ll start with our specialty—cuteness! When it comes to cuteness, Ra*bits will never accept second best!)

(And who better to lead the way than—)

Nazuna:

Nazuna’s voice is as lively and cheerful as ever.

Tomoya: 

... Nii-chan, could I have a second?

Nazuna: 

Oh, what’s up? Did I skip a line? I swear I’m trying my best to keep up with you guys! Whenever my lectures get cancelled, I use the time to catch up on practice—

—but compared to you guys who’re practicing every day at ES, I feel like I could definitely be doing more.

Tomoya: 

Nah, you’re being way too modest. Seeing you on stage reminds me exactly why we all admire you so much—you haven’t missed a beat!

And I’m sure our fans feel the same!

Nazuna: 

You think? Then that’s okay, I guess!

But yeah… You guys are improving crazy fast! I’m worried that if I lose focus for even a second I’m gonna end up falling behind.

Tomoya: 

Ahaha. There’s really no need to worry so much, Nii-chan. I've been meaning to ask this for a while now, but why are you so hard on yourself, exactly?

Nobody said a word about you dragging us down? And nobody ever has any complaints about your performance...

Nazuna: 

Mmm. I guess it’s an after-effect of being part of Valkyrie. I’ve been infected with Itsuki’s absolute perfectionism.

I know a long time has passed since I left Valkyrie, but I just can’t shake it off. Maybe I just have to accept it as part of my personality now.

… But anyway. Let’s not talk about Valkyrie too much; it’s complicated.

What was it you wanted? Having a chat mid-concert is a terrible habit from our days at Yumenosaki.

Tomoya: 

Nah, I’m sure everyone’s used to it by now— they basically think of it as part of the performance. You could say it’s one of our… traditions.

Tomoya: 

The fans start to lean forward when they spot us talking to each other on stage and think, "Here we go again..."

Nazuna: 

I wonder about that... I feel like they don’t have a clue what we’re on about half of the time—if anything, we’re probably just distracting them from all the singing and dancing.

Though I guess people fall in love with idols for more than just their singing and dancing. Everything we do is all part of the package.

… I’m not used to this. I can’t say I feel like there’s anything special about most of the things I do.

Tomoya: 

Ahaha. I guess it’s only natural for you to feel that way after being part of Valkyrie for so long, where every part of the performance was art in itself.

Anyways... Since everyone was so focused on ALKALOID during the first half, it didn’t feel like the right time…

Things got a bit complicated, so we couldn’t really say anything. But what do you think about borrowing the spotlight for a bit to talk to our fans about when you’ll return to Ra*bits?

Nazuna: 

Ah. Yeah… Yeah, we should probably do that.

Tomoya: 

Huh? You don’t really seem super on board though? I had a feeling you’d like to enjoy college life a little longer.

But management did tell us that we should at least make an official announcement about how long it's gonna be until you come back. Otherwise our fans might start to pull away...

Nazuna: 

Yeah. It feels kinda refreshing in a way—for them to give us a warning, I mean. Back at Yumenosaki, it sometimes felt like we could do whatever the heck we liked.

Still… Once an official announcement is made, I won’t have a lot of leeway left. Say if something happens, and I end up changing my plans—I could end up being called a liar.

Right now, I’m not sure how much I trust future me.

I don’t really want a big deal made out of my return.

I just want it to happen naturally, unlike Valkyrie or Knights.

There’s no need to make a huge fuss about it. To be honest? I’m so done with any kind of drama.

I don’t think our fans are expecting me to make a big deal about coming back either, y’know?

Granted, I know it’s probably a big deal to you and the others.

But to the world? To society? In the grand scheme of things, it’s really not all that important.

Tomoya:

...

Chapter One

Hop, Step

Season: Summer

Writer: Akira

Location: Rhythm Link Main Office

-One week later, just after summer vacation—early September-

Tomoya: 

What do you mean!?

This isn’t what we talked about! Why would you—did we do something to upset you!? I don't understand this at all! Can someone please explain to me why you’re doing this to us!?

Mitsuru: 

… Woah, looks like Tomo-chan’s pretty wound up.

I wonder what’s wrong? Maybe he’s hungry…?

You’re never yourself when you’re hungry—good thing I bought a bunch of freshly-baked bread on the way over here. There’s nothing like bread to fill up an empty stomach!

Hajime: 

Ack! Mitsuru-kun, ssh! We shouldn’t be making such a racket when we’re at the office. Besides, it looks like Tomoya-kun is discussing something pretty serious.

Mitsuru: 

Mmm… Seems like Tomo-chan is havin’ a lotta ‘pretty serious’ discussions lately…

Being the Leader sure seems stressful. He’s always wrapped up in this and that... I really wish he’d let ME in on whatever the heck’s going on! I should be his number one priority at all times!

Hajime: 

I wish I had half as much confidence as you, Mitsuru-kun.

… Though I also find myself reminding Tomoya-kun that we should be talking things over as a group a lot more often.

And even then, by the time I arrived at the agency today, Tomoya-kun seemed to have already lost his temper with some important-looking higher-ups...

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I kinda held back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tomoya-kun lose his cool like that before. He really caught me off-guard!

Mitsuru: 

Yeah… Come to think of it, quick as he is to get on my back about it whenever I mess up, he’s never ever lost his temper with me. 

Do you think it’s all thanks to his Masked Pervert-senpai? Some people scream into pillows to release stress; maybe Tomo-chan does it by screaming at that guy.

Or like, maybe he’s just built up a tolerance for putting up with crazy.

Hajime: 

Haha. It seems like lately Hibiki-senpai isn’t able to pay as much attention to Tomoya-kun as he used to.

Perhaps he does have a lot of pent-up stress, and no outlet for it? I get it; I miss having Akehoshi-senpai around to pat me on the head or give me a tight squeeze every now and then—

Mitsuru: 

I feel you! They’ve got onto me before about runnin’ in the hallways at ES, so whenever somethin’s bothering me I’m just about ready to explode!

No matter how far I dash on the treadmill in the training room, it’s just not the same…

Mitsuru: 

Back at Yumenosaki, Nii-chan could always tell when we were feelin’ down. ‘What’s wrong?’ he’d ask, all concerned.

It’s been tough trynna to keep my emotions in check all by myself these days…

Hajime: 

Mmhm. I‘ve been carrying around even more lavender sachets than usual, so when I called home for the first time in a while, my little brother started complaining, “Aniki, you stink of lavender!”.

Seems like he’s been going through a bit of a rebellious phase lately...

I used to be his ‘Onii-chan’, but for some reason I’ve suddenly become his ‘Aniki’. I wonder what kind of shows he’s been watching to pick up that sort of slang?

I accidentally used his toothbrush once and he scolded me, his face bright red.

Mitsuru: 

Woah. I get away with pretty much anything back home. If anything, they praise me too much… I wish it was as lively as your place!

Hajime: 

Oh no, my home life is more or less very peaceful, and we all get along great. That’s why I was surprised at him being so angry—it’s really out of character for him. I was pretty shocked!

Mitsuru: 

Ahaha. It’s fun to live it up in a dorm with a bunch of other idols, but when you’ve got families as great as yours and mine, it can get a little lonely.

Hajime: 

Mmhm. It feels like… there’s a sort of distance between us now, and I hate it.

I get a lump in my throat every time my little brother or sister phones me up to ask how things are going.

Mitsuru: 

Ahaha, Nii-chan used to say the same thing! “Don’t call me so much, you guys! It’s depressing!” Though talking to Nii-chan is the opposite of depressing for me.

Since we can’t meet up in person all the time, at least let us keep in touch over the phone!

Hajime: 

I could say the same thing to you, Mitsuru-kun! I’m not sure if it’s my place to make a comment, but lately it seems like you’re involved with so many projects that I hardly get to see you!

I wish we could put aside some time, even just once a day, to have some sort of group chat over WholeHands or something; it doesn’t matter what, as long as we can just spend some time talking to each other… I suppose I’ve gotten a bit spoiled by all the attention Nii-chan used to give us in the past.

Mitsuru: 

Wahaha, we can’t help it! Rabbits are sociable creatures—they die if they get too lonely.

Tomoya: 

I’ve had it! Sorry for raising my voice; I'm gonna go cool off somewhere. We’ll talk about this again later!

Mitsuru: 

Oh?

Tomo-chan! You finished talkin’?

Tomoya:

Tomoya brushes past Mitsuru without so much as a second glance.

Hajime: 

Huh? I don’t think Tomoya-kun even noticed we were here, he was in that much of a hurry.

I’m worried. It looks like he’s not paying attention to anything around him.

Mitsuru: 

Yeah! L-Let’s follow him! I’m pretty worried too!