![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nebulancer
Summary – Summer has come. As a part of a variety program setup, Kai disguises himself as a beachside restaurant employee to surprise customers.
The filming had been proceeding at a good pace, but at that moment, Shun arrives.
He's treated as an unexpected guest. And, of course, it’s impossible to think that nothing will happen...
“I was helping out at a normal beachside restaurant where people are normally on the beach. That’s all it should’ve been, but...... how did things turn out this way?”
1. Drama – Let’s GO! To the Uninhabited Island in the Demon World
[The waves crash on the beach. Birds cry out.]
Kai: ...White sand. Blue waves. And beside me, laughing, is...
Shun: *splashes around in the water* Ahaha ♪ Fufufu ♪ Ahahaha~♪
Kai~! Over here, over here!
Kai: My pure white partner.
...Spreading in front of me is the ocean. 360 degrees all around me, as far as I can see, is ocean... ocean... ocean.
I’m on a solitary island in the distant seas.
Shun: Kai, look, look over there! There’s a bird over there! It’s so beautiful~
It’s amazing! Look, it’s breathing fire!
Kai: Normal birds don’t breathe fire.
I was helping out at a normal beachside restaurant where people are normally on the beach. That’s all it should’ve been, but...... how did things turn out this way!?
Shun: A coincidence? An inevitability? Perhaps one could even call it fate? ☆
Kai: Don’t say it so nonchalantly! You’re the one who dragged me into this!
Shun: Teehee ♡ *sticks out his tongue*
Kai: Where...
EVEN IS THISSSSSSSS!?
(IS THISSSSSSSS!?)
(IS THISSSSSSSS!?)
(IS THISSSSSSSS!?)
-
Kai: Whoa! White sand, blue waves! This is nice! It sure feels like summer!
Director: Kai-kun! Did you put on sunscreen? You’ll tan in an instant!
Kai: Ah, yeah, no problem with that! Also, I’d like to tan a little. I haven’t been able to have fun outdoors this year.
Director: Gahaha! If you’re gonna do that, just make sure you don’t tan so much that TSUKIPRO-san gets upset at us!
We’ll call out for you when the prep work for the restaurant’s all done.
Kai: Roger that. Still, they’re doing the typical summer must-have, huh? I’m pretending to be a regular guy and helping out at the beach restaurant to surprise the customers I serve.
That being said, what’ll I do if they don’t recognize me...?
Director: That in itself would make for a worthwhile development, so it’d be useful for the program, too!
Kai: For real~? You saying that makes me want to casually show off my position.
Director: Ahaha! Then, I’ll see you later. It’ll be soon.
Kai: Phew~ I’m glad I got to come to the beach, even if it’s for work.
My first time at the beach this year! I saw the beach itself a good number of times, like at the gulf coast at Odaiba, but this is just the image of what the “beach” really is!
Sandy beach! Beach parasols! Beachside restaurants!
Argh, when I’m done filming, I’m definitely gonna go swimming!
Director: Kai-kun! Can you go on standby soon?
Kai: Yes, sir!
-
Girl: Whoa! Yikes, that totally surprised me... This was a prank?
Boy: Awesome! This is my first time being on TV! Um, is it okay if I get a photo to celebrate the occasion?
Kai: Ahaha! If you’re okay with me being in the pic?
Girl: Sure, of course!
-
Director: Kai-kun, you’re fantastic. This is going well! You might be well-suited for choosing the customers.
They’re all people who have these incredible reactions, so they’re worth being filmed! You’re a great help!
Kai: *chuckles* Might be because I’ve actually worked at a beachside restaurant before. Maybe I know the customers’ tendencies, like people who know how to go with the flow, or people who like to chat?
Director: Ah, now that you mention it. Before you debuted, you worked odd jobs doing anything, right?
Kai: Yes. I really did do anything. If it was summer, I’d help out at stalls or tend to a shop during night fairs. Did you know there are part-time jobs where you lift up the mikoshi, the festival palanquins?
Director: Huh, no I didn’t.
Kai: I lived in an area that didn’t have many youngsters, so I did a lot of the lifting.
I didn’t get much money from the job, but I got to eat my fill of the meals they provided!
Director: You fit the mikoshi-lifting image real well! Okay, festival man! *thumps Kai on the back* Could we get you to snag two or three more people with the prank?
Kai: You got it, sir! Lemme handle it.
Let’s see, then... Ah, how about I take care of the lady who came in just now?
Director: Sure, take it away!
[Kai walks away.]
Director:...Huh, wait? I don’t recall anyone coming in just now, though? ...Huh?
[Kai walks up to the customer.]
Kai: Welcome to our beachside restaurant! What would you like to order?
???: Umm, let’s see here~. How about one lively gentleman to play with me?
Kai: ...Come again? Ah... *chuckles* Um, we don’t provide that sort of service.
???: Ehh~? You’re no fun. Kai, let’s play~ I went all this way, and for what?
Kai: Hmm? ...Eh—“Kai”...?
???: Hah!
Kai: HAH!?
Shun: Speak of the devil—No, speak of the Summer Demon Lord, and he shall appear! Shun-san, at your service~☆
Kai: HAAAAAH!? Shun!? Y—EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?
Shun: Fufufu~ I had become a woman by using magic to camouflage me and help me sneak in!
Did it deceive you? Did you get pranked?
Ah. This might be the first time I’ve used this with the current gang, so. Prank~ successful~
[A fanfare and cheers set off... before being abruptly cut off by Kai.]
Kai: DON’T YOU GIVE ME THAT BULL!
Stop the filming! Stop it!!
-
Director: Er... So, to sum things up for the staff members, we’ve received a surprise uninvited guest... We’re the ones most surprised here.
Ahh, we’ve added a special guest to our ranks.
Shun: I’m Shimotsuki Shun from Procellarum. I look forward to working with you~!
Staff member: *whispering* This famous idol is always so busy that people can hardly schedule an appointment for normal talk shows. Why’s he here as a random uninvited guest!?
Director: *whispering* Don’t ask me. I don’t know, either!
For now, just know that when I contacted his manager, he responded with an incredibly exhausted voice, saying, “He escaped, so please make use of him if he’s come over to you. If we know where he is, at least, that’s better than him running away again.” That’s what I was told!
Staff member: *whispering* Are you serious!? We have the go-ahead from the agency!?
We’re way too lucky...!
...Ah! Who knows, maybe even Mutsuki Hajime could show up!?
Director: *whispering* Idiot! If things went so overboard that even he showed up for a surprise, we’d be so lucky that we’d have to worry about our lives the next day!
Staff member: *whispering* Th-that’s true...
Kai: Sh~u~n~? Sheesh, man.
Rui sent me an update that Kurotsuki-san’s got dead-fish eyes because of you. He has no highlights in his eyes.
Shun: If the highlights are the issue, I can help him revive them later!
Kai: That’s not the issue here! I heard you ran away from work, which placed you square in the Tokyo metropolitan area?
Shun: Yesiree, I did! But I’m a proper adult, so I made sure to thoroughly finish my work before I escaped!
I ran away like, “shoon!” I disappeared gracefully, like a ninja!
Praise me~
Kai: You’re a good boy for having finished the work itself. But don’t disappear! At least say something before you leave!
Also, it must’ve been a good distance getting from there all the way here, right?
What was your means of transportation?
Shun: Hm. I have... this. ✨
And the city has a TAX-EE, which is a very useful carriage which takes you to your destination if you simply state it!
Kai: ...You can use a black card on a taxi?
—Wait, that’s not the issue here!
Darn it, you little rich boy! How much did it cost for you to get here? I don’t even want to think about it!
Shun: *ka-ching~* Roughly 25000 yen.
Kai: And don’t reply with your first-hand experience! ...Also, that’s cheaper than I expected.
Shun: Right?
Kai: Sheesh... Well, it’s not like I can really do anything else, now that you’ve come this far. Looks like the staff members are over the moon about this, too.
We have no choice but to do the pranks together.
Shun: Yay~♪
Kai: For the record, though. The thing you did just now? No magic camouflage.
There’s no trick or secrets to it, so it’s above and beyond a simple prank. It’s a straight-up illusion.
I’m shocked at how the staff members were able to convince themselves that it was their own minds playing tricks on them.
Shun: Sure~ I’ll do it fair and square! That’s my specialty!
Kai: That is not a line I’d like to hear from a guy who disappeared from work like a ninja with a “shoon!”
Still, I wouldn’t also put it past someone like you to suddenly show up in front of them, like, WHAM!
Summing it up, there’s this thing I like to call “natural flow.”
No sudden appearances, either. Got it?
Shun: Yessir~ All I have to do at the start is secretly lounge around inside the shop, right?
Kai: ...What?
Shun: ...Huh?
Kai: I did say “beachside restaurant surprise,” you know?
Shun: Yep, so that’s why I’ll be relaxing.
All while enjoying my kill stea—er, grilled corn.
Kai: Uh, no. Work.
Shun: Eh? No way.
Kai: HEYYYYYY!!!
You’re the one who selfishly barged in uninvited, and you’re still refusing to work!?
Work, for goodness sake! We are em-plo-yees. That is our concept!
Shun: Huh~? I’m gonna work, too~?
Kai: You’ve been doing whatever, however and whenever you want, yet you want to be left to your own devices even more!? What is with this boy!? Terrifying!
Shun: Oh, fine. I fully understand.
Okay, I’ll do my best working as a restaurant employee. So, what exactly am I supposed to do?
Kai: Eh? Well...
...
...
...
...Huh?
...What in the world can Shun even do?
Shun: Kai~?
Kai: ...What can this guy do?
He’s just... got a nice handsome face. And he’s pure white. That’s all there is to him.
So what could he... Is there even anything he can do?
Shun: That’s a rather brutal way to talk about me~...
Kai: ...Ah!
Shun: Ooh?
Kai: Okay, I got it. Shun, you’ll be shaving the ice for the shaved ice!
Shun: Ice... It’s sort of... fitting for me?
Kai: Yeah. Now that you mention it. But that’s just a coincidence.
Anyway, come over here.
Shun: Okay~
Kai: Ta-dah~! This is a shaved ice maker!
Shun: Wow~! *clapping*
Kai: Anyone and everyone can easily set the ice here, turn the handle round and round, and in the blink of an eye, the shaved ice will be done!
The convenience of modern civilization is in front of us!
Shun: *sparkling* Huh, wow~! This is amazing! So this is how people make shaved ice~?
Kai: That’s where you’re starting? That’s where you’re getting started!?
Ugh, anyway. Let’s just give up on common sense for now. I won’t be able to make any progress if I’m hung up over every last thing.
Listen up, Shun. You’ll grip onto this handle and turn it round and round.
That’s all you need to do.
Shun: ...Round and round.
Kai: Oh, nice! Yeah, like that. Good going.
And then, the little shaved bits of ice will pile up in the cup underneath.
Once you’ve gathered up a good amount and drizzle the syrup on top—
Hmm?
[The sky begins to rumble, and dark clouds form.]
Kai: HMM!?
Shun: Round and round~
Staff member: Er, is it just me, or have black clouds started forming in the sky...?
They’re starting to spin round and round...!?
Kai: ...*gasp*!!
Shun: Round and round.
Kai: Aw, shoot! Whenever Shun spins something round and round, a door to the Demon World opens up... at least, I think there used to be an old setting like that!?
Staff member: What’d you say?
Kai: Er—Nothing!
Shun~? N-no need to keep spinning it round and round, okay?
Shun: Round and round and round and round...
Kai: Hey—wait, judging by the vibes of this, I don’t think this is a laughing matter—
Hey, SHUN—
[Kai and Shun are sent to the Demon World, and the clouds fade away.]
Director, Staff member: ...Illusion?
2. Drama – LET’S ☆ ENJOY the Uninhabited Island in the Demon World
[Flamethrower.]
Kai: Ooh, the fish’s getting grilled as easy as one, two, three!
This fire bird’s awesome! Firebird, you’re great! You’re doing great, Firebird!
Ah, this spot’s a little rare. Firebird, could you help grill this part?
[The bird caws.]
Shun: I know I sound like a hypocrite saying this, but your adaptability is off the charts, even inhuman. You’ve become good buddies with a bird that breathes fire, for goodness’ sake.
Kai: Eh? Did you say something just now, Shun?
Ah, are you hungry, too? Hold on, would you?
I’ll get this reliable Firebird, Fi-kun, to grill your share of the fish, too.
Shun: You’ve given it a nickname, too. That fish you’re grilling is Demon World fish. Are you okay with that?
Kai: Huh? Yeah, it might be from the Demon World, but it’s fish, right? So as long as it’s cooked thoroughly, it’ll pretty much be safe to eat.
Shun: ...Kai? Your judgment as to what’s edible or not is vast as the ocean.
Well, that species is, indeed, edible. How fortunate you are. It’s Demon World tuna.
*giggles* You did well fishing that up.
Kai: This thing’s tuna!? Nice.
If you need me to go fishing using a fishing pole, then I’ve got you covered.
Who knew that the techniques I honed from battling the various oceans on Earth would help me out in the Demon World, too?
[Kai flashes back to himself fishing up the tuna.]
Shun: I’m always thinking. If I had to bring something with me to a deserted island, I’d go with either Kai or Ikkun. Looks like I wasn’t wrong in thinking that~
Kai: What, are we just items to you~?
Ooh, it’s cooked! Fi-kun, thanks, buddy.
[The bird caws, “Kueh.”]
Kai: The guy’s saying “Kue,” like “eat it!”
Shun: I think that’s just its cry.
Kai: Okay, let’s get eating~!
Shun: Thanks for the meal.
Kai: Hm. Mm... mm? Mm!?
WHOAAAA!
This is delish! What the—This is awesome! It’s freakin’ delicious!
Shun: Y-you’re right... The instant I put it in my mouth, the fragrant sensation of it being freshly-grilled spreads through me, and if I chew it thoroughly as if I’ve been lured in, the tightly-woven elasticity wraps itself around my teeth...!
✨ Such mouthfeel only comes from something newly caught and grilled, the very essence of freshness itself—Yes, it is like a dance of life~! ✨
Kai: I throw myself into the activity of the dance of life, and if I continue biting twice—no, three times, the sweetness of the oil surges right up! It melts atop my tongue—it’s...
Yes, it would be no exaggeration to call it the soup of the ocean!!
SOUP OF THE OCEAAAAAAAAN!
...It’s important, so I said it twice.
[The music swells and stops abruptly.]
Shun: ...Let’s just finish eating.
Kai: ...Yeah.
[They finish the meal in silence.]
-
Kai: *sighs*
Shun: *sighs*
Kai, Shun: ...It’s peaceful.
Kai: ...If it weren’t for that giraffe-looking thing swimming in front of us, I wouldn’t think that this place was the Demon World.
Uh, no. It’s so peaceful, I was so close to dozing off while listening to the gentle sounds of these ocean waves.
Shun: *chuckles* Eh~? You were very much sound asleep before, Kai.
Kai: Wh—For real?
Shun: So real, for real. You were very deep in sleep for about two hours, with your mouth open, I might add.
Kai: Eh—That long!? Sheesh. I was in such a deep sleep that I wasn’t even aware of it?
I got up early in the morning, after all...
Shun: That’s true. You got up at five o’clock, I heard?
Kai: Yeah. I always wake up at six, so it wasn’t all that different from the usual, but I did have to change locations and do onsite filming, so I guess I really was tired~
Shun: You get up way too early~
Kai: Because you get up way too late.
Shun: It’s because I’m nocturnal~
Kai: Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.
By the way, I’m 100% sure that one of the reasons why I was so tired is because of a certain someone who barged in on business.
Shun: I realized that was the case, so I let you sleep~
And also, you know that giraffe-like creature swimming in front of us? The buddy was quite keen on gobbling you up, so I told it that it couldn’t do that.
Kai: ...My life was in danger at some point, without my knowledge!?
Huh!? It’s got the looks of a total herbivore like a giraffe, but it’s a carnivore!?
There are monsters that are hidden carnivores, too!?
I’m not edible! Shoo, shoo! Bug off!
[T/N: Kai originally says ロールキャベツ系 (Cabbage roll-type) – Which is a reference to a type of “man” in Japanese slang. Cabbage rolls are rolls of meat with cabbage wrapped around it, and similarly, “cabbage roll-type men” are “herbivores” (sweet, soft, gentle) on the outside, while being “carnivorous” (confident, actively provocative) to the core. But in this situation, he’s just referring to the “herbivore/carnivore” part.]
[The monster whines as it wades away.]
Kai: ...Ah. It’s pretty obedient. It went off somewhere.
Shun: Ahaha!
Kai: So, aside from driving away that giraffe lookalike, what’d you do for the rest of the two hours?
Shun: Nothing.
I just stared off into space... looking at the ocean.
Kai: For two whole hours?
Shun: For two whole hours.
Kai: Here, this whole time? Doing nothing?
Shun: Mmhmm. I did nothing. I didn’t think about anything.
I was basking in the luxury of having nothing to do.
Kai: Oh...
Shun: Fufu.
Kai: Mm... ... ...
...Doing nothing. Thinking about nothing, too...
You’re right. This is a luxury.
Shun: Right~?
Kai: ...Hey.
...This just popped into my mind, but could this be...
...A summer vacation for just the two of us?
Could it be that you went all this way, calling over a tax-ee and coming over to do this, despite being busy as you are?
Shun: Maybe ♪
Kai: ...Heh. I see.
Guess this makes for an incredibly luxurious time.
Shun: Fufu! Isn’t it?
Kai: We’re talking about you, so I bet you’ve devised a way for us to get back in a way that won’t serve as an obstacle to our work... rephrased, in a way that won’t cause a ruckus.
Shun: Oho? You think much too highly of me, Kai.
Kai: But I’m telling the truth, aren’t I?
You cause a fuss, but despite it all, you’re the Demon Lord who’s kind to each and every one of us.
Shun: Fufufu ♪
Kai: Heheh! ‘Kay then, I guess I’ll enjoy this for a little longer! This luxury of doing nothing!
Shun: Yes, let’s! That’s the best choice now. Working too hard is a big no-no, after all~
Kai: That’s true.
Hah~ Summer vacation’s the best~!
Shun: The best~!
[The waves crash...]
-
[The phone is ringing.]
Director: Ah! Is this the manager, Kurotsuki-san!? Umm, the two members of Procella... Kai-kun and Shun-kun...! I-I believe they were swallowed up in a mysterious light and—Er, well, they disappeared, with a “shoon!”
Ergh, aaagh...! Um, excuse me, can you hear me!?
Excuse me!? EXCUSE ME!?
