Hyena's Pure Heart

[nebulancer]

Makoto: Whew. It's gotten remarkably hotter recently, hasn't it? I'm soaked with sweat.

Even though in the past I'd rarely ever sweated... Maybe because I've been moving about a lot lately, it feels like my metabolism's getting active.

I'm acting more and more like a human, so I'm pretty happy about that.

...Eek!?

Come on~, Anzu-chan! Don't spritz antiperspirant spray on me out of nowhere, or else I'll get spooked! Did I have a sweaty smell on me?

No? I looked like I was worried about sweat, you say? I'm glad for your concern, but at least say something before doing so, please~?

Ah, you're giggling away there... Anzu-chan, you're rather mischievous, aren't you.

Although when you transferred, it felt as if you had a closed-off mindset~, are you going back more and more to how you were before?¹

That's good, though. It's like you've opened your heart to us, so... I think it's an honor, so it'd be nice if we could get a lot closer from now on, too♪

Nn? What's wrong, Anzu-chan? You're looking aside...?

Jun: ...

Makoto: Wha-? That's... the guy from "Eve" isn't it, Sazanami-kun, right? What could he be doing here?

Eh? Anzu-chan, you're going to try talk to him?

I look up to how you can do that so freely~. Anzu-chan's former personality, unlike mine, really was one that hadn't been closed off at all, huh?

Jun: Nn? Wait, you guys are...?

Makoto: H-Hey there! Hello, Sazanami-kun♪

Jun: Aah, good work today! Yuuki-san, Anzu-san!

Makoto: Whwha, don't bow your head like that? You're surprisingly polite, but to the point it seems exaggerated?

We're in the same year, aren't we? You don't have to add "san"~, casual talk's perfectly all right♪

Jun: Yeah... No wait, that sorta thing won't work. We're opponents in work, after all.

Well, I'm not very good with formal speech either, so I'd be relieved for that~?²

We're taught that we have to use courtesy in the work ahead of us. Unlike what you'd think, Reimei Academy's really strict on above-and-below relationships and stuff.

Makoto: Huh, is that so? Even in schools with the same idol training aspect, the atmospheres and such are rather different, aren't they?

Jun: Yeah. I dunno what it is about Yumenosaki Academy, if it's got a soft or free feeling to it, but I was surprised by that~

The contents of your lives and all that are students' planning, aren't they? We wouldn't think about that.

Makoto: Well, now that you say it, that is weird... Things like money and our movements are "work", but the students who aren't even professionals all seem to like it, so they just go ahead and do it.

But, for the record, that's only in the school... With work outside the school, we make sure to properly carry out the management from teachers or whomever.

We can't go around causing trouble for others, after all.

From the coming year on, we'll have more students other than Anzu-chan in the "Producer Course."

As that kind of rehearsal, it feels like we're testing just how much the students can do.

Jun: Hmm... Wait, sorry. It seemed as if Yuuki-san and Anzu-san were on a date before? Was I getting in the way just now?

Even before, you two were hanging out at the arcade... That's nice. Lovey-dovey and all that.

Makoto: No, no! That's not it! Um, you know, talking about it's going to get long, but...

Every day, it's gotten to that each of us in "Trickstar" swap out to take Anzu-chan to her home.

Today was just my turn, that's all!

Jun: Huh... You really treasure Anzu-san, don't you?

Well, she's not a simple student, but rather a "producer" I guess; is it that with her at a loss, you're doing so to curry gratitude?

Makoto: Ahh, no, we don't have that kind of motive! It's just that, from the bottom of our hearts, it'd be nice if we could get along~ and all!

Jun: Haah... So~mehow, you guys really are soft. We're not thinking about friendship or love and all that, so everything's a fundamentally gray color of youth.

Especially since recently I wasn't a "Special Student."

Every single day... doing lessons and studying to the point of near-death, to only think of even getting a little bit better~?

Makoto: ? What's that "Special Student" you're talking about? It looks as if Reimei Academy has its own system, but even when I looked it up I didn't find that much about it?

Jun: Huh... So you looked stuff about us up, didn't you?

Makoto: Yes, seeing as how I'm interested in gathering information, it's kind of become a habit that way... Sazanami-kun, you too, scolded me, saying that I had to "look up your opponents in work properly~"³

Jun: I didn't mean to scold you for that; it was a necessary preparation, right?

We even researched Yumenosaki a lot~, even in our regular classes we had the latest information and stuff taught to us.

I guess the reason for that being Yumenosaki's history being long, it's such a powerhouse school?

Well, we'll catch up to you soon. We'll knock you and beat you right down, okay~?

Makoto: C-could you please stop with the belligerence? We're going to be in the [Summer Live] exciting the crowd together as comrades, so let's get along♪

Jun: We're not comrades. There really is something, something that's just so soft about the very root of... you guys.

Aren't you just staring off in peace? It's easier for us if you're letting your guards down, though?

No matter how many powerful kings of beasts there are, there may be a hyena to eat and kill them.

...It's best if you keep your guard up diligently, all right~? If you guys end up running away, we won't have anyone to go up against.

Speaking of which, to answer to that previous question...

"Special Students," as in Reimei Academy's original system, is where it feels like a handful of us crush all the others underneath our feet in order to become "Special Students."

So that less than ten percent of everyone can become a "Special Student," other students are used up, bodies ground into powder. Well, it's kinda like feudalism and its aristocracies, I guess~?

And then, I finally became one, one of those who weren't in that huge percentage of not being a "Special Student."

Sometimes, when Ohii-san's eyes stop, they look like they were pulled up and out of the gloom of living in a sewage system.

If you failed, you'd go back to square one, and it's that kind of head first, falling, kind of life.

I will reject that. I definitely won't pull away, and even in the [Summer Live] I'll make as if I'm about to eat you, so...

When it comes to it, I'm looking forward to it.

Makoto: Y-yes. Of course we'll put all our strength into it, so let's both do our best.

Jun: Got it. ...By the way, the way this conversation's going, it might be hard to say, but~

Do you know of any shops you can recommend where I can purchase some food for cheap around here?

Ohii-san was going, "I wanna eat Jun-kun's handmade cooking!" and was going on making a tantrum for no reason...

I've been looking around for ingredients for dinner, but I don't know about each of the shops here~?

Ohii-san didn't really specify the necessary things like prices, so...

Best case scenario would be if I could do it cheaply~, otherwise in a few days I'll be broke.

Makoto: H-huh... I don't really get it, but you're going through some tough times, aren't you. It's my turn to do the cooking at my house today too, so if you want, do you want to go buy things with me together?

I have to go take Anzu-chan to her house first, though. I'll be free to go with you any time afterwards, so...

Jun: Ah, that's all right. That'll be a problem too, won't it? Actually, it's fine. Not like I'm in a different country or anything...

The prices won't change that much from my local area either.

If I just hang about the appropriate places with a purpose, I should be able to find some shops that're selling things at a reasonable place, right?

Well then, with that... I'll be excusing myself here~, thank you, and sorry for causing a fuss.

Makoto: Wha, lowering his head in a bow, he walked away... His manners are better than I'd thought, actually as if he had been pulled into line.

Really... Almost like he'll never be able to be tamed, he's someone who resembles a hyena.




¹-I really enjoyed the hint to Anzu's previous characterization in this story. In case you didn't know, Ensemble Stars was preceded by Ensemble Girls, production-wise, and in the latter, Anzu was actually quite the major character with a charismatic, positive personality. However, a failed rebellion caused her to resign from the school in shame, leading her to transfer to Yumenosaki to meet Trickstar and begin the Main Story. Because she was rather shy in the beginning and ended up growing more bold as time went on, we can see that she's actually going back to how she was "before."

²-敬語, pronounced keigo, is the term for honorifics and polite expressions. It tends to be used with those who are higher-ups. Jun tends to slur polite and casual speech together, which is notable when you see "-ssu" at the end of his sentences.

³-When Jun first meets Makoto, it's in the arcade during [Summer Live]. Makoto admits to not knowing anything about "Eve," so Jun tells him off pretty harshly for that.