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Summary – One day, in a studio within TSUKIPRO headquarters. For an article commemorating their 10th anniversary, an interview took place for Hajime and Shun alone. As fellow leaders, they’re accustomed to this type of work. While the job proceeds without incident, the two of them remember the time they first met.
“Hey, Black King. Will you continue playing with me and everyone else?”
“I’d ask for nothing more, Demon Lord.”
1. Drama – “The Beginning”
[A photoshoot is taking place.]
Cameraman: Oh, this is good.
...Could I get you to put your hand up?
Ah, perfect!
...Yes, great! I took a great shot. Let’s have a break.
Good work there, Hajime-kun.
Hajime: Thank you for your hard work.
Staff: Please take care of the disassembly!
Staff members: All right! / All right. / Ah, could you place this here...
Hajime: ......
Shun: Ha~~~ji~~~me! ♪
Hajime: Oh. Shun?
Shun: Is your photoshoot over, too?
Hajime: Yes, it’s finished. And yours?
Shun: It went off without a hitch! And just now, I’ve come to peek~ in~ on~ yours~
Still, hmm... What a shame.
Hajime: ? Was there an issue with your photoshoot?
Shun: Huh~? Goodness, no! There’s no way I would possibly show a shoddy side to myself for work if I’m working alongside you.
I went at it even more beautifully, more charmingly than ever! I thoroughly mesmerized everyone who was there at the scene.
Why, with how things went, I’m already looking forward to the finished product. ✨
Hajime: Heh. Is that so?
✨♡ Hm... You really are...... ♡✨
Shun: Ah......! I really am...!?
Hajime: Pfft! Blessed in good looks alone.
Shun: !? Ouugh~!
Hwajime’sh fashe from closhe up... is shooo cooool~~~!✨✨✨
Hajime: Heh... Heheh. You fool.
We’ll be changing into kimono after this for a paired photoshoot, huh?
Shun: Mmhmm! I’m quite excited for it~ There’s no better chance for me to get up close and personal with youuu~
Hajime: It would throw a wrench in the plans if you didn’t stay by my side during our paired photoshoot.
Shun: This is one of the perks. I absolutely must reflect upon this precious time for all it’s worth.
Hajime: ... *sigh* Get used to this already. We’re already in our tenth year.
Shun: We’re only in our tenth year. You cannot underestimate my Hajime Love.
My happiness of getting to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you has caused my heart to flutter at any given time, for 315,360,000 seconds these whole ten years!
I’m even grateful for every single passing moment. I can confidently state that I will never, ever, get used to it for eternity.
Hajime: I think saying “for eternity” is a bit too weighty.
Shun: *chuckles* Sorry about that. ✨Get used to it.✨
Hajime: Okay, whatever you say. After that...
Shun: Is a round-table discussion between the two of us.
Hajime: Ah, yes. When that happens, Tsukishiro-san said he’d drop by to show his face again.
Shun: It’s quite nice that he can occasionally check up on how we’re doing since it’s a studio located right inside the HQ building. And speaking of which, Dai did say he’d be coming, too. It seems he and Kanade are showing up at the same meeting, so they might even come together.
*sighs* My two-person honeymoon period with Hajime is oh, so short!
Hajime: The round-table discussion, you mean. It was about us reaching ten years since our debut, wasn’t it?
Shun: After ten years, Hajime’s skill in ignoring has improved, too~
The title of the discussion is, “A Discussion Between Black and White at their Tenth Anniversary.”
Hajime: When it was still in its planning stages, it was, “The Royal Talk Between the King and the Demon Lord,” you know.
Shun: Oho?
Hajime: The title’s become significantly more docile. *chuckles* I’m glad it’s changed.
Shun: I like the previous title, too~☆
Hajime: I suspected you’d say that...
[Hajime stops walking.]
Shun: ...Oh. Hajime?
Hajime: This... ...This was the place, wasn’t it?
Shun: Hmm?
Hajime: The place where you and I first met.
Shun: ...Ah......
Hajime: Don’t you remember, Shun? Our first official face-to-face meeting was on a different day, but we coincidentally bumped into each other before that.
Shun: ...Heh. There’s no way I’d ever forget.
I got to see you, whom I’d only seen before through photos, in the flesh and for the very first time.
You’d just finished taking your promotional official pictures and were wearing your black stage outfit. It was your very first stage outfit.
My, that takes me back...
Hajime: Meanwhile, your debut had only just been decided at that point. You’d come for a meeting or something of the sort, and you were wearing your high school uniform.
Shun: Mmhmm! You were still a high-schooler at the time as well.
It seemed as if you weren’t satisfied with how the photoshoot had gone. As you inclined your head ever so slightly and nonchalantly looked up...
That was when you saw me.
Hajime: Yeah. It was still bright out.
I saw you, wrapped in the white light.
Shun: I locked eyes with you.
Hajime: I instantly knew.
You were the leader of the unit antithesis to ours.
Shun: I knew as well.
“Aah. It’s you,” I thought.
Hajime: ......
Hajime, Shun: *chuckle* Fufu.
Hajime: ...... *sighs* How nostalgic. That happened back when I was still nothing—a nobody. I knew that I was blessed with my surroundings and my environment.
Still, I felt as if something were constraining me, and I had this indistinct impatience lingering around me all the time.
I thought it was a luxury for me to think that way. That I was being selfish. I had gotten irritated with myself.
Shun: Hajime. You’re always quite tough on yourself, aren’t you~?
The way I see it, just about any child around that age would struggle with unmanageable feelings and impulses that, more or less, have to do with themselves.
As your body and heart grow larger, it is a time of preparation in which you prime yourself to set off alone, leaving the patronage of your parents. It’s a natural process when you’re growing.
As an individual human, you constantly feel conflicted as you seek out your own identity.
Hajime: ...Heh. You’re saying things from a philosophical, farsighted standpoint, as always.
Shun: *chuckles* I’m the one saying it, after all!
Hajime: And did you have a time like that, too? When you had emotions or impulses you struggled to put in order?
Shun: —Me? I......
...Even I had times like that.
Before I met you. Before I met everyone else.
Hajime: Before... we met?
Shun: ...Hey, Hajime~? Did you know?
Even when you didn’t know who I was, I always knew of you.
Hajime: ...? What’s with you all of a sudden?
Shun: Ufufufu...!
...The Beginning is always in the front. The End follows it.
The Beginning never turns back, but the End is always gazing at the Beginning, yearning for it.
Hajime: Shun...?
Shun: Would it ever be allowed to reach its hand out...? However, there lies the contradiction that if it were to ever capture the Beginning, things would come to an End.
The Beginning and the End share a relationship of being each other’s antithesis.
However, I am sure that the End... is the only one that continues yearning.
I have always... kept my hand reached out.
Hajime: ......What are you going on about? That’s coming out of nowhere.
You can reach your hand out anytime.
Shun: Fufu...! You’re quite right.
...You’ve always been like this. At any moment. Wherever you may be. No matter what universe you’re in... You’ve always taken my hand as if it were the most natural thing for you to do.
Which is why...!
Which is why, in this world as well, I’d been waiting.
Hajime: Waiting...? For what?
Shun: Isn’t it obvious? I’d been waiting for the Beginning!
For our...
For Procella and Gravi’s...
For the white and black story to begin...!
For the longest time... The longest time ever, I’d been waiting for it to Begin...!
-
Interviewer: Well, then. Here and now, we’d like to get started with “A Discussion Between Black and White at their Tenth Anniversary.”
First, could I hear from you, as unit leaders, how you felt about reaching your tenth year of activity?
Hajime: Of course. It’s been ten years since our debut.
I feel nothing but gratitude that Gravi and Procella have managed to come together this far with the twelve of us, staying together the whole way.
Shun: We all debuted in our teens, and we’re now all in our twenties~ Our appearances and our interiors have grown very, very much!
Hajime: It’s odd to say this sort of thing about ourselves, but... well... Heh. You’re right.
I really do think that way.
Interviewer: Actually, I had a chance to interview you back when you’d debuted. I’ve brought several photos from back then...
Here you are.
Shun: Wow...! Hajime’s sitting position shows he’s trying to look edgy here!
So cute...
Hajime: ...Ngh. It’s embarrassing, so stop that.
Shun: Ooh, and You isn’t losing out, either. He’s just as much of an edgy wannabe~
Hajime: *chuckles* Oh, go easy on him, would you?
...Since it’s our tenth anniversary, nostalgic photos or videos tend to get brought back to our attention. It gets rather embarrassing.
How do I put it...? It even makes me think, “We’re quite young here.”
Shun: I know, right? Everyone’s so, so young~!
Ah! Look, look, Hajime! Kai used to give off a lanky impression in this one! He’s always been tall, but he looks more boyish here...
Hajime: Haru looks less suspicious than he does now.
Shun: I can hear Haru protesting, “I’m not suspicious now, though!!”
Hajime: Haha, I already expected this, but it’s easiest to tell that Kakeru and Koi have grown. Their facial builds have changed a good deal.
Shun: Rui and Ikkun, too. When the juniors debuted, they were only 16, right? It truly feels as if they’ve gained mature, adult features.
Hajime: Their hearts have grown as well. They’re adults, beyond the shadow of a doubt.
They’ve become so trustworthy... and instead of backing them up, I find it more common for them to back me up.
Shun: The middle members... I suppose they’ve done much more internal growth.
See this expression from Yoru? He used to freeze up this much from having a camera pointed at him.
But now, he’s capable of such stunning acting that he’s forgotten the camera completely to surprise all those around him!
Hajime: Aoi used to smile with such an uncomfortable expression like so. Yet now, he can pull off casual improvisations smoothly no matter the unpredictable accident thrown his way. He’s gained courage.
Shun: You, too~ He used to be this sassy and edgy, “raring for a fight—but spare him from the bothersome details!” sort of boy...
But now, You’s grown enough to act as a teacher, visiting the school and teaching the class in person. Wouldn’t you be surprised too?
Hajime: Aah, you’re talking about when he and Arata provided guidance for a dance club a while back? I was surprised to know that they were well-balanced.
Arata pays attention to the entirety of what’s going on, while You points out the fine details of what needs to be done...
Shun: I thought the same thing. These past ten years, we haven’t just formed bonds within our units. Gravi and Procella have formed bonds among one another as well.
Hajime: It’s been... ten years, after all.
Interviewer: We’ve just gotten to hear your thoughts on all of your unit members, but what about between the two of you?
Are there things that you believe have changed from back when you first met, compared to now? Or, is there anything that hasn’t changed?
Hajime: Oh... ...About... Shun?
Shun: Hajime...
Hajime, Shun: ...Hmm...
2. Drama – “The End”
[Roughly ten years ago. Shun is at his family home.]
Shun: ...Hm.
[Shun takes a sip of his tea.]
Sakaki: Shun-sama.
Shun: Ah, Sakaki-san!
Sakaki: It seems that this snow will continue falling throughout the night.
You will catch a chill if you continue to keep your window open.
Shun: I know. But... I’d like to keep it like this for a little longer.
See, look. The world is being dyed in white.
How beautiful...
Sakaki: Yes, indeed, it is. It is beautiful.
Shun: ......Hey, Sakaki-san?
Sakaki: Yes?
Shun: When a world comes to an end, what color do you believe that world is?
Sakaki: Its... color?
I do wonder. Whatever color could it be?
Shun: It’s a complete, pure white.
If the beginning were black, a color which contains all other colors, then white would be the color of nothingness.
Black creates light. It creates all sorts of colors. It stirs up all sorts of stories, but in the end... all of it...
Is turned white.
Sakaki: ...
Shun: It has absolutely~ nothing. No~ one is there.
A pure white world remains in the end, and if I chomped right down and ate it...
It would truly come to an end.
It would be The End.
Sakaki: Shun-sama will eat the world?
Shun: Yep! With a chomp! I’ll gobble it right up~
In just one bite~ Fufu ♪
Sakaki: ...I see... ...In that case, what would happen to you after you’ve eaten the world?
Shun: What would happen?
...What would happen? Hrmm... If memory serves me correctly...
I wouldn’t have been able to disappear... I’m pretty sure.
Sakaki: It’s not clear as to what would happen, even though you’re the one concerned?
Shun: Well, I can’t help it! If I’ve gone that far, then there’s almost nothing left of my own ego. I’m good as empty then.
There’s a phrase that goes, “I think, therefore I am.”
If truly everything were to disappear, and it were all, all gone... Then even that “I” would become unstable.
The outlines of my own self would blur, becoming hazy.
Sakaki: ......
Shun: But that’s... the same as how I am now.
Sakaki: The same...?
Shun: Yes. My current self lacks all sorts of things.
That’s how I feel.
Sakaki: Shun-sama, I don’t believe you’re lacking in anything.
Shun: Ufufufu! You’re much too soft on me, Sakaki-san~
Still, no matter how complete I seem, my outline is blurred, causing me to feel vague. That is an absolute truth.
Perhaps... a distinct End requires a distinct Beginning.
...Half of me... may still be slumbering away.
I want to wake up as soon as possible~
I wonder if I’ll recognize that moment when it happens?
-
Hajime: Barkeeper, I’ll go put out the trash.
Barkeeper: Oh, it’s already full?
Hajime: Yes, sir. And it looks to me that we don’t have many limes left, so would you like me to purchase some on the way back, just to be safe?
Barkeeper: Aw, shoot! I was thinking of buying some on the way here, but I completely forgot! Sorry about that, Hajime-kun! Could I let you handle it?
Hajime: Of course.
[Hajime leaves.]
Customer: Isn’t the part-timer more attentive than you, barkeep?
Barkeeper: Heh, he really is a great help.
Customer: Would it be okay for me to treat him to a drink?
Barkeeper: Unfortunately, no. He’s still a minor.
Customer: What, really? Huh...
He’s very composed despite that.
-
Hajime: ...... *sighs*
...! It’s snowing... No wonder it’s cold.
...The world is being dyed in white...
It’s quiet.
It’s like it’s slumbering away.
-
Hajime: Thank you for your hard work.
Staff member: Thank you for your hard work!
Hajime: ...Hm... I know they’re asking for more variation in my expressions, but... I can’t smile if there’s nothing to smile about.
I guess I should learn from Haru.
[The elevator door opens, and Shun walks out.]
Shun: Beyond this point is...! I can feel it!! I can feel him!!
You’re...!
Hajime: ...You’re...
Shun: Mutsuki Hajime!!
Hajime: Shimotsuki... Shun.
[Cathedral bells ring.]
-
[The recorder beeps.]
Interviewer: And with that, we’re wrapping up today’s interview.
You’ve been hard at work for a long time since this morning’s photoshoot, but thank you for holding out!
Hajime: Thank you for your hard work.
Shun: Thank you~! See you again!
Interviewer: Heh. Yes, I do look forward to working with you again.
Well, then. I’ll be excusing myself now.
Hajime: Phew...
Shun: Hajime ♪ Good work there!
Hajime: You too. Good work, Shun.
Shun: AW YEAH, BUDDY~~~!✨✨ I’ve been completely healed, I’m totally healed!!✨✨
Shun-kun’s power has been RESTOOOORED~!
Hajime: That happened way too easily. ...No, that’s not the problem now.
...Shu~n~?
Shun: YES!!!✨✨✨
Hajime: Quit saying rapid-fire exaggerations such as, “It was fate!” or “It was an inevitability!” It sounds shameless.
Shun: Huh~? No, it wouldn’t~! It’s not the fate that normal people talk about, but rather, the fate that I am talking about!
F-A-T-E!
See? Doesn’t it sound so much more meaningful~?
Hajime: Don’t call your own statements meaningful.
Well, true. It’s a word that sounds oddly fitting when you say it.
Shun: I know, right~? Because, after all, it truly was—truly is, a fact. That you and I, Procella and I, and Gravi and I are bound by fate.
It was, indeed, an inevitability that we had this chance encounter. And the way we’ve come ten whole years together...
Hajime: Was a miracle.
I agree with you there.
Shun: Huh~? Just that part?
Hajime: The fact we’ve dashed through ten whole years with the same members is a grand feat that deserves the title of “miracle.”
However, wrapping it all up with a pretty little word like “fate” doesn’t sit well with me, personally.
Shun: Oho?
Hajime: Fate makes you come together. Regardless of people’s wills or desires, it assigns good and bad fortune, both weal and woe, through a coincidental meeting.
We, and those who’ve watched over and supported us, have added to these ten years together.
Some otherworldly power did not make it happen. It was something that only happened due to strong wills being present. That’s how I want to see it.
Shun: Mmh~! That is truly a Hajime-like way of thinking about, and phrasing things.
I love it~
However. Even the “fate” I’m referring to is certainly not a passive concept, either.
It forms connections, ties bonds together, and it respects each and every little thing that we’ve accumulated. Please do think of “fate” as a word that grants us the utmost praise possible.
It’s a word that expresses the results we have achieved, perhaps?
Hajime: So it’s not that “we turned out this way due to fate,” but rather, “it’s nothing short of fate, seeing as how we’ve come this far”?
Shun: Exactly so!
Think of it as the support for the achievements we’ve made until now.
The way I see it, we’ve accomplished such amazing feats that I have no choice but to call it fate!
Hajime: In that case... well, I can understand it that way.
Shun: I know, right~? Plus, don’t you believe it would also be wonderful to have a coincidental encounter without any wills or connections whatsoever? That, too, could stem possibilities from a type of fate.
It’s fine if it’s a product of coincidence, just as long as something comes from it.
We’re going to grow something from nothing with our own two hands, with our own wills.
Our encounter was fate. Our miracle was the path we’ve walked.
What do you say to that?
Hajime: It’s... not bad.
......Hm.
Shun: Hajime?
Hajime: It seems that I’m just as obstinate as I’ve always been.
Shun: Heh... Ahaha! I don’t think you really need to say that so earnestly about yourself!
Hajime: But it’s true, isn’t it?
Shun: That may be the case, but isn’t that what makes you who you are?
As long as you exist as yourself. You think, therefore you are. Correct?
......Ah! I get it now...
Hajime: ......Shun?
Shun: You really are... the Beginning. And I truly am the End.
This story only began because the two of us were here.
Because the two of us exist, this story will keep on going and going...!
Hajime: ...Sometimes, you say things based on their sensations alone, so I don’t know how to respond to you.
Shun: But if it’s you, Hajime, you’ll somehow understand, isn’t that right?
Hajime: Somehow, yes.
You’re satisfied with that, aren’t you?
Shun: Yep! As long as there’s someone who can somehow empathize with how I’m thinking, that in itself is a blessing already!
Hajime: Then I’m glad to hear that.
Well, then. We should head home soon. I heard from Tsukishiro-san that he’d take the car out for us.
Shun: All~ right~
Hajime: Mm......
[They begin packing up.]
Shun: Actually... I’ve thought this every time, but...
Hajime: Hm?
Shun: I see you as the type to always want to settle things unambiguously, as clear-cut as black and white. When I’m talking about abstract sensations, you instead respond to me in a purposely ambiguous way.
Why is that?
Hajime: Oh... ...I wonder why...?
Shun: And are you aware of it?
Hajime: I am.
Shun: That sounds about right.
Hajime: Hm... When I’m discussing topics with vague outlines with you, your playfulness and leeway will disappear if I corner you too much by demanding specifics. You won’t be as interesting.
It might be because... I just feel that way.
Do you... get what I’m trying to say?
Shun: Fu... Fufu! Worry not. I understand exactly what you’re trying to get at.
Somehow, that is.
I won’t be as interesting, huh~? That was a somewhat unexpected reason.
Hajime: Do you think so?
I know I have a rather childish side to me which makes that response reasonable...
Shun: Now that you mention it... I suppose so?
Hajime: It just goes to show that the Demon Lord isn’t the only one who wants to play around. ...Heh.
Thinking about it again, I might have continued this job for so long because there are so many ways to play around, and that there are no definite correct answers.
It’s full of newfound surprises, and there’s no clear-cut defined goal.
I’m challenging myself to see just how far I can go.
Shun: It’s truly a fitting stage for someone like you, who hates losing.
Hajime: As I suspected, you already know me very well.
Shun: I am, after all, registered member number 6 in your fan club ✨
Hajime: I know. I send you a birthday message every year, don’t I?
Shun: And every year, I graciously and preciously keep it safely stored away.
Hajime: Heh. Okay, let’s go.
Shun: Okayyy~
Aah, Hajime! Can you let me open the door?
Hajime: Huh? Why?
Shun: That way makes it more beginning-like, doesn’t it? That’s why.
When one end comes, yet another beginning descends upon it.
Hajime: ...I don’t really get it, but... well, sure.
*chuckles* Do what you want.
Shun: Thank you. Let me escort you, how about it~?
Hajime: That? No thanks.
Shun: Ahahaha!
[The sound of a grand door, not the one in their meeting room, opens.]
Shun: Well, then. Go ahead, you of the Beginning.
Hajime: !
Shun: Hey, Black King.
Will you continue playing with me... and everyone else?
Hajime: ...Heh. I’d ask for nothing more, Demon Lord.
[Hajime walks out, and Shun follows suit.
The grand doors close shut.
Cathedral bells ring.]
