Rocket Start ~star gazer~ Chapter 1

[nebulancer]

Subaru: Ahahaha! And all of a sudden, it's fall☆

Look here! When there were fall leaves dropping by the roadside~, I picked 'em up!

There're a ton of yellow leaves too, for some reason! Even though the color's different, can they still be called "fall leaves?"¹

Hokuto: Quiet down. Hey, don't move, Akehoshi.

Subaru: Wha-wh-hya☆ Stop it, I'm getting ticklish!

Hokuto: I'm telling you to not move despite that. Don't struggle around, else your clothes get wrinkles in them, right?

Subaru: Nn~ It feels weird when other people change my clothes! I'm not a little kid anymore, so I can at least dress and undress myself well enough, okay?

Hokuto: Yeah, whatever, just quiet down already. These are pretty elaborate clothes, so without even a stylist we'll need others' help to change.

In the case you change by yourself, you won't consider the back areas.

Because we turn around throughout our dance, we'll have to keep in mind to look good in every possible direction.

In the Theater Club, I tend to be given more tending-to jobs than actually performing, so I've gotten pretty used to this.

I'm applying some light makeup, so face this direction.

Do you have sensitive skin, or perhaps allergies to anything in particular?

Subaru: Nn~, I don't, but... It seriously feels like I've become some celebrated person.

Hokuto: Hmph. On the stage, we're the kings.

Subaru: Eh~, instead of a "king", Hidaka-kun's more of a "prince", aren't you☆

Hokuto: ...I told you to forget about that, didn't I. Now, even in retrospect, I wish you hadn't seen my acting that time. Ahh, so embarrassing.

Subaru: I won't forget it~. Ever since entering Yumenosaki Academy I hadn't had many fun memories.

That day, I was really to have been in harmony with everyone.

Kinda felt like youth, fufufu♪

Hokuto: Hmph. If you wanted youth, wouldn't it have been better for you to enter a regular school?

You were the one to decide on proceeding down this thorny path, weren't you; don't be drooping and sputtering out complaints, you hear?

Subaru: I wasn't complaining or anything, though~... Hidaka-kun, don't you think about those kinds of things?

Li~ke, maybe we've totally wasted our time or something?

Hokuto: You and I are different, Akehoshi. Every day, I don't skimp on collecting every bit of skill and experience, working hard with determination.

That way, I believe it would never go to waste.

Subaru: Aren't you amazing~, Hidaka-kun. Don't get me wrong; it's not sarcasm. I seriously respect you for this.

Somehow even in spring, I'd been feeling as if everything I did with my life on the line was gonna end up making a fool of myself.

Hokuto: For that reason, you didn't come to school too much? If you don't attend classes as you should, you'll end up repeating a year, you know?

Subaru: That's good enough, isn't it? The Student Council's been experimenting with some Dreamfes System or whatever...

With thanks to that, achieving results as idols reflects in our grades too, y'know.

I look around for solo jobs and participate in them bit by bit, after all.

That's why I think my grades are pretty good~, because when the classes are boring, I don't show up.

Hokuto: You should take your classes seriously, too.

...I don't actually support the Dreamfes System all too much, though.

Because of it, those who take up jobs from time to time are more assessed than the guys who take their classes with sincerity and dignity.

Subaru: Idols aren't those kinds of guys. They're like- mastering your abilities, mastering your results, aren't they... With me and Hidaka-kun, the direction we're facing to putting in our effort is different, that's all.

Hokuto: It's simply that I've been worrying due to their sudden change in rules from scratch.

Wouldn't you be at a loss to see that what you've taken seriously, bit by bit, and collected each and every day to have been meaningless when you've woken up the next morning?

Without being flexible enough to transition well enough for the situation, I've had something missing in me... or at least, that's what I think.

I think you'd be quite skilled in that aspect, though.

Subaru: Nah~, it's "just by chance." I've only had good luck since a long time ago.

Hokuto: Luck should be some kind of effort as well. No, it's some kind of talent that. relying on drawing helpful developments to oneself, can't just be explained by science alone.

You could say that it's a trait of a protagonist that wins destiny over.

...Well. Whatever, it ended up being this way. You can move now, Akehoshi.

Subaru: Yup. Thank you~, Hidaka-kun.

Hokuto: No need for thanks. Today, we stand together on the stage of the [Golden Star Cup] Stage, so it's a given for us to support each other.

Subaru: Yeah♪ But I don't know a thing about this [Golden Star Cup!] Going by the name, is it some kind of brand of sake²...?

Hokuto: It's the name of this Dreamfes. Based after the image of a shining golden star at dawn, it's a live for only the innocent first years to perform lives in... or so I've heard.

Subaru: Like the morning of the morning star, isn't it! I'm also a "morning star"³, s~o I've got some kinda relation to this golden star!

Ah, that's why I was requested to appear in this [Golden Star Cup]? Because of my name, is that it?

Hokuto: No, it's due to ability. Amongst the first years of A Class and B Class, the two from each class with the highest grades were selected.

Well, at least, that's what I've heard.

Subaru: Heh? My grades are actually good?

Hokuto: Indeed. Though you neglect your usual tests, you're highly regarded for your solo work.

Despite your balance being bad, with the first years you're top class.

For myself, I've been chosen for the worth of my effort, as well as my overall grades being exceptional.


¹-"Fall leaves" are written as 紅葉; they generally refer to the fact that the leaves that fall in autumn are usually red, and the 紅 kanji means red. However, the leaves that are falling in the story are also yellow, so Subaru makes somewhat of a joke on the fact that they're not all red.

²-The name of the Dreamfes is 金星杯. 金星 being the "Golden Star", and 杯 being, literally, "Cup." Because Subaru doesn't get the whole thing, he thinks that the "cup" part is reminiscent of a drink.

³-明星 is Akehoshi, but it's also "Myōjō" (which he introduces himself as in the game's main story as well), and they share a similar meaning with 金星 (Golden Star) because the Sun is yellow, and 明星 is the Morning Star, literally. He's making a connection with these star references. Subaru is on fire.