Rocket Start ~star gazer~ Chapter 8

[nebulancer]

Makoto: "♪~♪~♪"

Subaru: "♪~♪~♪"

Mao: (Ahaha. Those guys are standing like they're best friends of ten years, getting along with shoulders lined up.)

(What a mystery, isn't it. Even though today's the first time the four of us have sung and danced together...)

(To the point I can't believe it, it feels as if our breaths are totally in sync.)

(It's making me grit my teeth that we couldn't have shown this to just a few more people, as there's barely anyone in the audience.)

(Aw, darn. It's for this kind of thing that, even if it were impossible, I could have asked the higher-ups in the Student Council for.)

(Even I'm an idol, and so I'd wanted more people in the audience to watch.)

(But this time too, they must've thought that it was work that no one wanted to do, getting the short end of the stick.)

(It's said that the [Golden Star Cup] is where the first years are able to play an active role-- but it's just a Dreamfes whose aim is just to leave something on the official records.)

(It's this type of business where everything, from the details to the income management, has been neglected such that "what has been executed has meaning to it.")

(That the Student Council is on the side of the masses, or rather, that what is created are all established facts only, is the intent of this live.)

(Right now, in the "huge flow" that's swirling around Yumenosaki Academy I'm not involved for the most part... I'd pay that no mind, or so I thought.)

(But in my whole life, I'm feeling that this stage will be meaningful.)

(I've always walked behind where someone couldn't see me, to let someone else have a turn. Because if I were to rush out too much, they'd start to hate me for it...)

(I'd thought that I would end my life, living in the background behind the strong.)



(But. Acting out as I see fit, leaving behind being perceptive-- even if I'm found irritated or annoying for that, I at least think it'd be nice...)

(For some reason, right now, I'm having tons of fun♪)

(Ahaha. Since, up until now, all I've been doing is documentation work.)

(Even if not, I was doing only busy jobs, and maybe because I haven't sung and danced in a while is why I'm getting swept up in this excitement♪)

"♪~♪~♪"

Hokuto: ...

Mao: Nn? What's wrong, Hidaka? Sta~ring off into space like that... did you forget the lyrics?

It seems you have the Theater Club's play after this. Forget about that right now, and focus on the performance here.

...It's ridiculous to not let out all our might even on the stage where there's basically no one else, though, right?

Seeing as how you're the type of guy to move according to that kinda win and loss calculation~♪

Hokuto: That's correct. I'm forming my understanding on it from a cool-headed position.

Instead of using up my stamina here, it's most important for me to prevent exhaustion at the moment to use in the play afterwards.

Despite this... It's odd. I could have malfunctioned somehow. My legs, my arms, they're moving of their own will.

From the very depths of my throat, my voice is flowing out, and the very center of my body is burning up my life.

That part of myself is something I can't control.

How odd. It doesn't stand to reason. Yet the strangest thing is, that it's refreshing.

Where there are almost no audience members, upon this dreary stage... I think I'm wanting to continue this forever.

I'm hoping that this time could stay as good as it is for eternity.

It's weird. If I think realistically, prolonging this stage would mean trouble for the play afterwards.

Because I had finally been accepted into the cast, I'd put all my effort into working hard for this day.

So before it, I had thought this [Golden Star Cup] would allow me to warm up... But now there's nothing left, and I must have used up everything I had.

This must mean I'm still a novice when it comes to managing myself.



Subaru: Oo~i, let's sing, let's dance even harder with all our might! All together now...☆

This is the most fun ever! Come on over here, hands together, let's dance... Prince♪

Hokuto: I told you not to call me prince.

Subaru: Nn~. But you know, I feel that you're not good with being called by name.

Hokuto: ...

Subaru: The same with me, it's like you're exhausted of seeming as if you're "riding on your parents' coattails" I guess...

So I can empathize with you, and I felt I could get along with you well.

Hokuto: ...So what if we do get along. It's not necessary for an idol to make friends. As my father, as well as your own, were super idols who stood on the apex by themselves.

That's why I thought it was obvious I would be by myself; I've lived this whole time thinking that way.

Subaru: Me too. ...But hey, what if that weren't the case?

If you wanted to sing without being alone, if you wanted to be friends who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder and aim for the same dream, then! That's the best kind of happiness, isn't it, making you feel fortunate, isn't it!

That's how I think. How about you?

Hokuto: ...I have no idea. But there's meaning in pondering that question.

If I had to puzzle over my parents' lives, I wouldn't know the reason behind me being alive or not, indeed.

Well, anyways. Let's concentrate on the stage here. If we let everything come to an end smoothly, even the scenery we see just might change.

We don't know if the curtains, on a future we couldn't have expected, might raise as well.

That's what I expect... Let's move forward on this path, step by step.

With you guys, together.

I've always felt that I were some lost child such as Hansel and Gretel. In that story, at the end, "Happily ever after" was the only thing I remembered.

If you're not alone, you can overcome any troubles that come your way. It was that story's moral. Why now... am I remembering that?

Though my father and mother were constantly busy, sometimes on a whim they would read to me picture books, letting me listen so that I could sleep.

As my parents were speaking, I listened and fell asleep, seeing dreams for the whole time.



Even so. Right now, it feels as if I'm finally able to wake up.

Subaru: Ahaha. Isn't it your role to wake up the Sleeping Beauty? ...Prince♪

Hokuto: That's concerning the play after this. At this moment, all I want to do is think about this stage.

Let's exert our very best.¹ Indeed, unnecessary things should be left for later...♪

"♪~♪~♪"


¹-Nothing wrong here, but I would just like to note that this line ("最善を尽くそう") is the one Hokuto uses when he begins a battle in the game. It's an interesting bit, as it could be that this is where his battle finally starts.