nebulancer

Summary – Kakeru and Koi on a certain day, when the Christmas mood is livening up in the city. While successfully accomplishing their university work and their jobs, they’re spending satisfying days. Though they’re busy every day, they’ve been tasked with all sorts of jobs. They’re also pumped full of motivation! It’s because they’re busy that they plan a Christmas party with the rest of the dorm’s members for the first time in a while.

Taking on university lectures and working on Tsukiradi recordings. A story of Kakerun, feeling nostalgia for the time he used to work as a part-timer.

1. Drama – “Daily Life and Dreams”

[The school bell rings.]

Kakeru: Hrrm... HRRRMMMGH......

Koi: Kakeru? Kakeru-san?

You’re grumbling with such a dreadful expression on your face. Whatever is the matter, good sir?

Ah, did you miss out on taking notes for a part of it? If you want, you can look at mine?

Kakeru: Mm? Aah, Koi! Thanks for the offer!

But my notes are fine.

I was just worrying over what I should have for lunch... should I go for the freshly fried, wrapped in a juicy coating, fragrantly crunchy croquette set? Or the tried-and-true half-ramen, half-fried rice lunch set~! ✨

Koi: And here I was, actually being worried for my partner. How will you make up for the breaths I wasted on you?

Kakeru: Ahaha! Sorry, sorry.

It’s been a long time since we last got to eat at the university cafeteria, so I thought that I’d have to do a close investigation into how things go.

Koi: Well, yeah, true.

These days, we always have to get moving right after this, and we never really had the time to chill in the university itself.

Kakeru: Though I’m glad to know that just goes to show how much work we’re getting.

Koi: You can say that again! Then, should we get moving? Kakerun’s got that croquette meal locked onto. We should get there before it’s sold out and disappears from the list of choices.

Kakeru: For sure!

Kakeru: Ah, Koi! Over there, over there. There’s seats open.

Koi: Ooh, you’re right. How lucky~! A corner seat next to the windows!

Kakeru: There we go!

...I didn’t go with the croquette meal that tormented me so much... nor did I go with the half-ramen, half-fried rice set...

And there I sat, having known my heart was stolen by the daily special set meal, the ginger pork...

Koi: And here I sat, eating the croquette meal due to Kakeru’s gospel.

Kakeru, Koi: Let’s dig in!

Kakeru: Homph. ...Mmmh~! Shoo good~!

I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I were to call this ginger pork the very justice of a starving, hungry man! The sweet sauce perks right up with the ginger, and mixed with the meat, it forms a collaboration of one’s dreams! I can’t stop eating~!

WHITE RICE. IS SO GOOD. OHH! *gobbling* Issho good.

Koi: Mm. *crunch* This is great! The crunchy coating’s fragrance... and from it, the sweetness of the potatoes spills over.

The minced meat’s flavor spreads throughout my body. DELICIOUS!

Fried foods are the best, and croquettes are the king of them all!

Kakeru, Koi: ...I’m in bliss...

[They continue eating.]

Kakeru: This is great, isn’t it? Koi? Mm...

Koi: Yeah, it’s so tasty...

Kakeru: Gwah~... *sighs* ...Gimme a little.

Koi: Oh, yeah, sure.

Kakeru: *emotional* Thanks.

*crunch* HGNNNH. I knew it. It’sh sho...

Kakeru: Whew!! Thanks for the meal! With yet another delicious meal in my stomach, I’ve got a hundred times the energy! Isn’t that right?

Koi: For real.

By the way, Kakerun, we have a radio to record after this. We’ll need to brush our teeth. I just remembered that I ran out of toothpaste, so can I drop by the convenience store?

Kakeru: Yeah, gotcha. The only work we had today was the Tsukiradi, right?

Koi: Mmhmm. Radio recording starting in the evening, and then the day’s over.

Dinner in the dorms. And starting in the morning tomorrow, we’ll have a photoshoot. I think it was supposed to be a little early.

Kakeru: Hmm, let’s see... Just now, Tsukishiro-san sent us the final schedule... Ah, found it! We’ll have to be in the studio by 7 A.M. tomorrow morning, apparently.

Hrmm... If we wanna be safe, we need to wake up at... 5:30 A.M.?

Koi: *collapses onto the table* That’s rough...

Kakeru: *laughing* Hey, hey! The staff members have to work even earlier, so let’s just do our best.

Koi: Ahh, you’re right. If I’m not awake by then, wake me up! Please!

Kakeru: Understood! I’ll knock you into living daylight! ✨

Koi: In your case, I’d expect you to knock the living daylights out of me, so... you sound reliable, but just so terrifying.

Kakeru: Still, you’d be fine as long as you wake up by the proper time.

Koi: ...Figures.

Kakeru: Plus, take Aoi-san for example. These days, he’s always been waking up at 4:00 A.M. every day from Monday to Friday, so we’re taking it easy, all things considered.

Koi: He’s a regular on a morning program, huh? I honestly respect him, from the bottom of my heart.

I learned that morning TV’s rough as heck.

Kakeru: Aoi-san’s refreshing smile is so perfectly fitting for the mornings, so you can’t help but feel like the casting’s spot on.

Koi: Mmhmm. While we’re talking about that, we have a lot of radio, talk show, or event-type jobs coming our way.

Aoi-san’s a regular on a morning program, Arata’s gonna be in another stageplay starting next week. Haru-san’s got a drama, and Hajime-san does all sorts of stuff as a whole.

Procella, being Procella, seems busy. The content of our work’s gotten super varied, eh?

Kakeru: You can say that again. Ah, Koi! This is sorta sudden, but I’ll be doing a reading drama at the end of next month!

If you have some free time, come and hang out.

Koi: Ooh, sounds nice. What kinda people are you gonna be doing it with?

Kakeru: Umm. Uh, another idol from TSUKIPRO, and some stage actor, and an actress... There’s about ten of them in total? Including the regional ones, it makes for ten whole performances, but I’m a guest for one day only. Looks like they called over a bunch of different people daily.

Koi: That sounds like fun! It seems nice... I like doing jobs where there are people from a bunch of different fields. Even if they’re also in showbiz, the way they work and the content of it’s completely different. It’s interesting, so it’d totally be a chance to make friends who can talk about that kinda stuff with you, right?

Kakeru: Mmhmm! Take cliches or the typical routines for us. There are times when those don’t get across to people who specialize in stageplays, at all! So you get surprised or you have to reflect on what you say.

Plus, there are tons of times when you need to study on top of working.

For example, with reading dramas, even if it’s one line... people have completely contrasting ways of reading, pronouncing, and expressing them. That’s why it turns out totally different from when you did it.

Like, “Oh, it can be like this!” or “Ah, I’ll be copying this method starting next time.” It’ll help me out.

Koi: Ah! If I can insert my two cents here~ I like your reading dramas. They’re easy to listen to.

I just genuinely think it’s amazing that you almost never flub your long lines or fast lines. They slide right into my ear, so in my head, I can just see what’s going on as if I can see it in person!

Kakeru: Eheh. Thanks.

I like the times when you do it. Take when it’s supposed to be a normal scene, the way you read it makes me laugh or start having fun. It sure is a talent.

Koi: It sounds like I’m being complimented, but...

Kakeru: *laughs* I’m complimenting you, man!

I like how you work and deal with it in a way that’s packed to the brim with fun! I also admire you for that.

Koi: Kakeru-san’s... sudden... sweet side! ✨

Kakeru: *chuckling* What’s up with that...?

Koi: Er, well... I felt so sweet and mushy inside that I couldn’t let it pass without commenting on it... I can do my best at work for the time being...!

Kakeru: Yeah, go do your best. While we’re on the topic, I’ll admit I’m studying up on trying to do work that you do, the way you do it.

That’s why I think Tsukishiro-san also got me the job for the reading drama.

Koi: Eh? First I’ve heard of that. What you mean by “work that I do,” are you referring to voice acting jobs? Like anime?

Kakeru: Well, I’d be glad if offers for that came for me, but what I wanna do the most is... dubbing for a movie, I guess?

Koi: Oh, dubbing! I did that for a robot movie just recently. Troop member 1.

Kakeru: Yeah, that! You seemed like you were having so much fun with it, so it made me want to do it even more~

You’ve done an anime job before, so you sometimes get offers for them, but I’ve never really done the type where I record ahead of time, y’know?

One day, I’d like to give it a try. So for that, I have to study up!

Koi: Ooh, yeah! Hang in there!

I mentioned this already, but your voice is really easy to listen to, so I get the feeling you’d be good for narration and stuff.

Kakeru: Oh, that sounds good. Koi, your work also includes narrations, huh? Maybe I should get discussing with Tsukishiro-san the next chance I get...

Koi: Go and get’em! Give it a shot!

Kakeru: *giggles* Sure!

Kakeru: This time’s back again!

Koi: We’ll keep this fun talk rolling on, as we always do~

Tsukiuta. Radio, AKA Tsukiradi. is~?

Kakeru, Koi: Getting started~!

[The jingle plays.]

Kakeru: Soanywaywe’vegottenstarted this is Tsukiradi. Yes.

Koi: Yes. Everyone, have you been looking forward to this?

Today, we’d like to be talking a lot, and the end will also feature a promotional corner for the work that the Gravi members are doing, so check it out.

Kakeru: Well, promotions are also a precious part of our job, after all! We would be very glad if you could keep up with us until the end.

Koi: And about our recent work... there’s the drama that started airing in October, where Hajime-san shows up as a charismatic beautician. Did you watch the latest episode of “On a Night Where You Become Beautiful”?

It’s that episode where Kakeru and I casually made an appearance as guests!

Kakeru: *chuckling* As the unpopular comedian duo, “Hakumai Rice”.

[T/N: Hakumai means uncooked white rice. Rice means rice. If I translated it literally, it would be Rice Rice, so I kept it as is.]

Koi: At last... And not just as a running gag... We finally debuted as comedians.

Kakeru: We’ll become big one day...! ...Or not, since apparently, the writer in charge of the screenplay listened to this radio. That’s why the offer came to us.

Koi: Us, as comedians.

Kakeru: Yes. Us, as comedians.

Koi: Just for the record, this is an idol’s radio brought to you by the idols Kisaragi Koi-kun and Shiwasu Kakeru-kun.

Kakeru: Ahaha! There might be people who still haven’t seen the episode, so if we’re going to avoid spoilers as we vaguely explain the plot...

Koi: Well, even if we did discuss anything, I don’t think it’d have to do with the actual storyline.

Kakeru: *laughs* That’s true, but. Um, well, the unpopular comedy duo Hakumai Rice drops by the hairstyling studio where Akira-san, the charismatic genius beautician played by Hajime-san, works.

And, in order to become a big deal among the rookie hottie comedians, they request him to, “Please! Make us cool!”

Though Akira-san continuously gets fed up with them, right in the middle of them getting their haircut, the heroine Suzuka-san appears. That’s how the story goes, doesn’t it?

Koi: When we’re in the middle of getting our hair trimmed, Akira-san gets dragged away. And still wearing our salon capes, we get left behind...

I guess you could say that it was one terribly wonderful story filled with both laughs and tears alike.

Kakeru: We have very few lines, but we left scars.

Koi: Kakeru’s line sure resonates with me...

Kakeru: “Don’t you think that even guys like us have the possibility of becoming hotties!? HEAVE-HO!”

Koi: You over there, the person who just got interested in watching! Get your friend, who recorded it, to show you!

Kakeru: ...And that’s how we went ahead and promoted ourselves before the others. But at the end of the program, we’ll be advertising all the work that the Gravi members have lined up, so look forward to that!

Koi: Look forward to it~

Well, well, then! Let’s head into the usual: the corner where we read off your messages.

This corner here is a corner where we introduce a few letters that were sent in to this program through the exclusive form located on the program’s official homepage.

Kakeru: The week after next will be Christmas, so it’s notable that we saw Christmas-related topics here and there in the messages and questions.

Koi: Fweh...? It’s already going to be Christmas during the week after next...? Basically, the year’s about to end?

Kakeru: Exactly~! It’s been a fast year, hasn’t it? Time flies like an arrow, for real!

Koi: It really does, it does~!

[They fade out.]

2. Drama – “That’s Right! Let’s Have a Christmas Party!”

Kakeru: Phew... It’s a huge relief we got through Tsukiradi. having as much fun as always~! Oh. Maybe I should learn from Koi and tweet about it.

“Thanks for following us during the Tsukiradi. today, too! I’m at a café near the studio right now.

I’m sipping some tea and waiting for Koi, who said he forgot his phone in the break room~” And send!

*sips* ...Ah...

[Jingle Bells plays.]

Christmas, huh...? Just a few years earlier, during this time, I would’ve been doing some part-time jobs...

Holding a signboard for chicken or cakes, handing out flyers... There are tons of short-term jobs during this season. I held multiple jobs at a time here and there.

...Hehe.

When did it happen? Once, Koi asked me, “Why do you work so much?”

Since I was living on my own, I had pressing reasons, like for food expenses, rent, heating, and everything else besides.

Now that I think back on it, though, the most important aspect that kept me going was the enjoyment of doing all sorts of things. Like being in a factory, or a backyard where everyone aside from those affiliated were forbidden from entry!

I got so excited getting to enter those types of places, too...

Heh. Takes me back...

I don’t think I’ve ever changed from my elementary school days, when I admired secret bases and the like.

I’m doing something similar for my current job, too. I’m doing all sorts of things, I have access to places that people wouldn’t normally be able to enter freely, and I’m excited... and thrilled every single day!

I have fun being busy! Hehe.

Though the way it applies to me is different from Koi, being an idol must’ve been my life’s work.

[The door opens, and Koi runs in.]

Koi: Sorry, Kakeru! I kept you waiting... uh, huh? You look like you’re... in good spirits somehow?

Did something good happen?

Kakeru: Mm, nah. It’s just that, when I wondered what Koi would be treating me to after he kept me waiting for twenty minutes, I couldn’t hold back a smile~

Koi: Demand whatever you desire of me, sire!

Kakeru: We’re home~!

Koi: We’re home!

Kakeru: And... whoop! Umm. Oh. Looks like no one’s come back yet.

Koi: Huh? No one?

Kakeru: Yeah. According to the whiteboard... Looks like Haru-san will be coming back at noon tomorrow.

Koi: Ahh, because of the closing party for the drama. He said that it’ll probably go late into the night, so he won’t try to go out of his way to get back home. He’ll be staying at the hotel that’s located above the closing party venue.

Kakeru: Oh, I see! The picture that suddenly popped up on Gravi’s TL featured the decorations in the hotel lobby, huh? Those Christmas decorations had the reindeer looking way too realistic.

Koi: Yeah, that. Haru-san’s bad at taking pictures, so the photos had an additional sense of... uh, lively motion. So the reindeer looked even more realistic...

Kakeru: *chuckles* True. We talked about it a bunch during the radio just now, but it’s already Christmastime, huh~?

Hah! The year passes so fast!

Koi: It sure does. I guess that just goes to show why the passcase I got at last year’s Christmas party and am still using today is so worn down.

Kakeru: Is that the thing you got from the present exchange?

Koi: Mmhmm. It was a present from SOARA’s Nozomu. The flashy colors totally fit my aesthetic.

Kakeru: Looks really good with Gravi’s fashionista Koi. Nozomu’s a stylish guy, too~

And your preferences for clothes sorta resemble each other, somehow.

Koi: Probably.

Kakeru: Are we gonna have another Christmas party in the agency again?

Koi: Who knows? Let’s ask Haru-san later.

Kakeru: Sure! Whether or not we have an agency party, let’s hold a Christmas party in the dorms. How ‘bout it, Koi?

Koi: Ooh? It’s Kakeru-san, pumped with Christmas spirit. You finally learned how to enjoy Christmas in a way that doesn’t have to do with working part-time jobs?

Kakeru: The combination of Christmas and New Year’s holidays are like bonus time... a fantastic time to make a profit for the local short-time part-timer...

Koi: You’re saying it so keenly...

Kakeru: Though it’s pretty obvious that I can’t work part-time anymore.

Koi: Would you, if you could?

I have zero doubt in my mind that if you’re standing around at the cash register or selling chicken these days, people would think that they’re on a “You just got pranked!” program. Even I’d look for a hidden camera.

Kakeru: *laughs* If I were in their shoes, I’d do the same. So, that’s why!

Since I can’t work part-time anymore, I just went, well! Looks like I gotta hold a party, then.

Koi: Going off of how you phrased that, part-time work is next in line. It’s just like you to do, Kakeru-san...

Kakeru: Well, yeah? Looking at a whiteboard like this makes me think that everyone sure is working hard!

I guess you could say that I wanna give them a reward, myself included... but also, I’m in the mood to get having fun, no matter how busy they are. Fun is priceless!

Koi: The phrase “fun is priceless” has a nice ring to it!

Kakeru: We work in jobs that depend on publicity, so I know that us being busy is a good thing. I like working, and luckily, work itself is super fun for me, and it makes me feel complete.

There’s a lot for me to do, and I have dreams, and the agency’s supporting me.

I do think I’m blessed. But...

Koi: If business keeps going on and on, and that’s all that’s left for us, it’ll totally exhaust us. Breaks are important! Having fun’s also important!

Kakeru: You got it, buddy!

Busy times are exactly when we want to do fun things. If you think that fun things are lying in wait, you can work even harder!

At least, I’m that way, so let’s have everyone work with Christmas as their end goal, and have fun using Christmas as an excuse!

Koi: Sure thing! All right~! Let’s do a Christmas party! Let’s get it going~!

Kakeru: Whoo!

Kakeru: Ah, Hajime-san, Shun-san! Welcome back!

Koi and I are thinking of doing a joint Christmas party with Gravi and Procella!

Koi: Kakeru and I will be organizing it, so please let us handle the preparations!

Ah, but we get the feeling that we might ask you two for various other things, so would that be fine?

Kakeru: Eh? Ah—Ahh! Ahhhh—

*voice cracking* Bringing in Demon World-related guests or helpers is something we’d be grateful for, but it’s quite unnecessary! We’ll be fine!

Koi: Hh! Y-yeah, yeah, what he said! Your backup is quite reassuring, but we’ll be fine!!

Kakeru: We’re fine, fine!! Our dorm already has the Christmas fairy, the mini-reindeer Nakai-san anyway, right!?

Kakeru, Koi: WE’LL BE FINE!!

Koi: Ah. Excuse me, am I talking with Tsukishiro-san? This is Koi speaking.

On the 25th, we’ve decided to hold a Christmas party in the dorms, so by all means, I’d like the two managers to make an appearance.

Yes, sir. Yes.

...Ah, it’s fine! It’s completely fine! I know that everyone’s got a lot of work lined up, myself included. So, we’re planning to make it the type where we keep the common room open the whole day, and if someone has the time, they can just drop by.

Kakeru: Ah—Koi, lend me the phone?

Excuse me, Tsukishiro-san? Thank you for all your hard work. Kakeru speaking.

The two of us, Koi and I, will be organizing it, but do you remember the decorative balloons we used for the recent event? Do we still have extras of those?

I just thought that it’d really bring out the vibe if we used those as decorations.

...Yes. Yes! Thank you so much!

He said he’d check over it again for us.

Koi: Nice!

Koi: Kakeru, sorry~! I know I promised to go out shopping with you for the party prep, but I suddenly got a job for a costume fitting...!

Kakeru: Gotcha. It’s no problem at all! They’re all light stuff anyway, so I can handle it alone.

Koi: Seriously, I’m so sorry!

Kakeru: Don’t worry. Can I count on you to handle things when I have something to do?

Koi: Definitely!

Kakeru: Hrrm...ghh... Mmghh... Ggrgh... Mmrgh... GHAAAH!

Even after all this time, I still think that starting off reports is the hardest thing to do!

Koi: For sure...

Tracts! Reports! Ugh, I just admired the ring of those words back when I started out as a uni student. I wanna go back and tell myself...

“Dude. Calm down. They’re literally just really long essays.”

Kakeru: *groans* I feel you.

Koi: HOWEVER! Once we’re done submitting these, what awaits us is...!

Kakeru: CHRISTMAS!! AND THE CHRISTMAS PARTY!!

We’ve got no choice but to do our best, Koi!

Koi: You gotcha, buddy!

Koi: Iku~ Thanks for helping me buy materials!

Kakeru: Rui, too! Thanks for helping decorate the tree.

Because of your help, things turned into Christmas mode in a flash!

Koi: Well, then! I will go ahead with the lighting ceremony. Switch~? On!

Kakeru: Ooh~!

Koi: Wow!

Kakeru: It’s a little early, but? Merry Christmas~!

Koi: What do you mean by “little”...? It’s super early.

Mm. But this does make you want to say it, huh? Merry Christmas!

Koi: Hey, everyone~! Hello there!

Kakeru: As always, full of energy, our Tsukiuta. Radio, AKA Tsukiradi. is~?

Kakeru, Koi: Getting started~!

[The jingle plays.]

Kakeru: Getting into brass tacks! The theme of our Tsukiradi. today is, basically... Christmas, dear listeners!

It’s a big event that represents December as a whole, after all~

Koi: The entire city’s swamped in Christmas colors, huh. And our dorms recently held the lighting ceremony for the Christmas tree.

Kakeru: Kai-san got a huge fir tree from who-knows-where, and it was incredibly realistic—You could even say it turned out super gorgeous!

Koi: Kai-san has... some strange personal connections, doesn’t he?

Rui, Iku, and the two of us—making it the four of us in total—led the charge in decorating it.

Ah, I’ll be uploading a picture of the tree to my personal account after this, okay?

And there’s actually a continuation of this story.

The next day... The mysterious decorations on it suddenly increased in number.

Kakeru: There were tons of rabbit bun plushies dangling off of it! Guess who the culprit was?

It was Hajime-san and Haru-san! Apparently, they put on additional ornaments in the middle of the night.

Koi: Those make for some nice decorations, don’t they? They’re cute, so do give it a try, everyone.

And while we’re on the topic, the day after that, tanzaku wish papers appeared.

Tanzaku on the tree. Like, dude, this isn’t Tanabata!

[T/N: Tanabata is a holiday on July 7th. It is used to celebrate the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi meeting, and during it, people have long, narrow papers where they write their wishes.]

Kakeru: Something was clearly off about this situation, but everyone found it amusing and wrote on them. So, they just kept on coming, as you might have expected.

Koi: And in the end, I wrote my wish on one too.

“I hope I become a hottie.”

Kakeru: I wrote one too! I got a little greedy and asked for three!

Koi: Eh? What, what? What’d you write?

Kakeru: “I hope my unluckiness is at moderate levels.” “I hope I get taller.”

Koi: ...Way too realistic...

Kakeru: And lastly, “I hope the Christmas party is a success!”

Koi: Ooh.

Kakeru: Koi and I are the organizers of the Christmas party we’ll be holding with everyone in the dorms.

Koi: Yes, we are! If we take some good pics, we’ll share ‘em with you guys!

Look forward to them!

Kakeru: With that being that! The Tsukiradi. this time will be providing you with a steady stream of Christmas-related topics.

At the end of our program, we’ll also be promoting jobs that have to do with Christmastime during our advertising corner, so keep up with us until then!

Koi: Promotion’s important! We’ve got super-special info that’ll make your Christmases even more fun. Hope you’ll thoroughly and completely check it out for us, ‘kay~?

Kakeru: Well, then! We’ll head into the real deal with the usual energy and cheer!

First, let’s start by listening to my new song, which is slated to release next:

Moonshot!!