KAYANO

“A-Ah, I see. Well I guess that saves the sorta embarrassment of not knowing what to say when they do something wrong that’s terribly obvious.” 

The most he was used to was laughing and calling them a dumbass. Internally anyway.

“Oh, uh- th-thanks.”

He gets red when Jito tells him good job. In order to combat this he pulls up his scarf over his cheeks and nose and looks away. Usually he’d be proud and let it fuel his ego, but because of his now self reflection phase, well, he didn’t exactly know how to reply aside from be embarrassed.

“Mhm! My mom would do anything for me and I just… I want to make sure she doesn’t work too hard.”

“It’s really… concerning when she starts to work her butt off and doesn’t really know when to stop.”

“I don’t know how he turned out but he probably is more than a deadbeat. I do know one thing about him though, he’s a coward who refuses to take responsibility and would rather hide his tail between his legs and run.”

“We all got our specialties, I think that’s just sort of an inevitability unless you’re a jack of all trades y’know?”

He’s a little surprised that Hiroyuki isn’t being as prideful as he usually is but doesn’t question it.  Maybe he’s maturing in the few weeks that he’s known the boy.

“…I’m sure.  Mom’s are like that.  Hey I… again this is going to be a rough question to ask since I know she’s a sore subject for you but what did your mom say on your video?  It was brief but… she’s okay right?”

He starts to wonder if maybe he lucked out that his dad only went missing instead of being the mess that Hiroyuki’s might’ve ended up being.  

“Sounds kind of pathetic.  I take it that he doesn’t really help you or your mom out at all and was just a burden or something?  Tch, that’s the worst… if that’s the kind of guy that you had to deal with for a dad I don’t think I could blame you for thinking that a lot of people were scum when we first met you.  After all, you usually tend to get a view of the world from your parents of close friends… actually…”  

The more he thought about it he’s never heard much about Hiroyuki’s friend circle outside of their immediate group.

She was, wasn’t she?

She said she was alright and would continue to work hard... that was enough of a confirmation to say that she was alright? Just thinking about it made him want to panic and his voice to crack up.

“W... well m-mom said she was fine and was going to continue to work hard. B... but her expression scared me. I-I wanted to rewatch the video to make sure she was alright but by the time I t-tried to r...recheck it.”

He pauses for it.

“...You know the rest...”

“Well, it’s not that he was a bad dad, because you can argue if he was a dad at all. It that’s I don’t know him, and I know the reason why I don’t know him. He was too afraid to accept the responsibility of a child and ran away when mom said she wanted to have me. I don’t know his face, I don’t know his name, I just know that he exists and why I don’t know him. He’s scum, plain and simple.”

Sneaking peaks at your mother’s journal leads to one thing or another and things you shouldn’t know. Although at some point he was gonna have to ask why he wasn’t there when everyone else had one, still though. 

He closed his eyes and sighed. 

“Never asked her why she fell in love with THAT fucking man if he was gonna up and do that to her. She MUST have seen just how much of a fucking piece of trash he was at some point right?”

He crossed his arms and huffed.

“I’ll never understand humans sometimes.”

Friends... huh?

That was... a word he heard all over and yet only recently he realized why it was such an important word.

His expression got even darker, more solemn. His more pissed off and more annoyed expression disappeared and it just became... lonely.

It was exhausting work, this motive. You’d think a girl who made it into the bottom five would be doing pretty alright, but Azusa’s nerves were still running high, and she still felt guilty even taking a moment of peace and quiet for herself. Good people were going to be gone in only a few days, and her biggest problem was, what, trying to figure out what to make for lunch? 

The truth is is that were she now going to lose two of her best friends pretty soon, Azusa’s life would be as good as a life can get in a killing game. Sure, people are dying, but she made fried rice! So she’s all smiles, huh? 

…God she’s bored. She’s eating all alone, and her thoughts keep wandering to every sad topic a girl can think of. She really could use a distraction….which is when Hiroyuki comes in.

…She could use a different distraction, she thinks, taking a bite of a carrot bit. But she knows she can’t exactly just ignore him. The room still smells of oils and sauce, and she’s standing right in the middle. She’s not really hidden from him and he’s not hidden from her. And, despite herself, she is a little concerned, even if she’s not sure he’d want her concern. He doesn’t exactly like her, after all.

“Are you…hungry? There’s still some rice left.”

He pushed the door open slowly and carefully, hoping to not try and attract to much attention. He thought the coast was clear at first as he took calm and relieved steps in, thankful no one saw him. The only thing off was the smell of the room. He wasn’t a chef or anything, he’d set something on fire before he could make food, but it sounded like someone made food here. 

Someone...

Would someone even want his presence? Or would they just leave him behind? Why try talking to him when he going to be a dead body anyway? That would have been his philosophy before he came here. 

He stretched his arms out and sighed, ready to sneak a few snacks and go back to his lil hidey hole. He turned, ready to be met with a face and he turned pale and his eyes widened.

Azusa was here.

“I- I uh...”

He looked to the side, he wasn’t too sure how to answer Azusa’s question. Should he be honest? Should he be distrust worthy? Did she even care? Probably not.

“Y... Yeah I’m hungry.”

“I guess so. I’m majorly self taught with music actually, no one really taught me I was just… talented from the get go and grew on my own. But yeah, I can try to teach you. I’m not sure how well that would go though, ‘cuz I dunno how I’d do it.”

till getting used to the whole being nice, friendship thing. It was hard for someone like him who can’t recall ever being nice until just recently.

“Still though having someone teaching you would nice, I remember trying to mix for the first time and getting really intimidated and not knowing what I was doing so I settled on no mixing at all. Looking back at that old cover that got me my overnight following is like a trip, knowing how much you’ve improved.”

He let out a dry laugh at his old dumb self. Of course he’ll never admit looking back at him then made him grimace. He knew he was never as bad as he was back then. In a way he never improved and instead devolved, and it made him feel ashamed knowing that. 

“Really, she is a saint. While I tried to chip in, still do sometimes, she worked hard to keep us afloat and even now she does her darnedest to keep us comfy. She’s a hard worker, that’s for sure.”

He bit his lip.

Ah, right, his dad.

He looked to the side, and let out a deep breath in and another out. 

“I’ll say this about that scum of a human being, he really didn’t help my old views on the human race to say the least, actually making them worse, and that’s putting my thoughts on him in a nice way.”

“You don’t gotta teach me.  I just thought it would be cool if I figured out how you did everything you do.  Painting is a pretty simple thing, even if there are extra steps anyone could do it.  From you to Azusa, really it’s just doing careful brushstrokes.  Singing and mixing music sounds… a lot more technical.”  

He didn’t even know what kind of tech you’d use for that.  Something on a computer probably.

“Well it was probably embarrassing but that’s the pain of improvement.  You can’t help but look back and think, ‘how was I that bad’.  That embarrassment only means that you’ve got a way higher quality standard than before.  Great job!”  

He probably didn’t need his praise, but it made sense to him that he was doing well and improving.  

“Nice kid, it’s always nice to help our your folks when you can.  Considering our parents usually do their best to keep us happy and healthy giving back just a little I think really means a lot to them.”  

It really was interesting to see more and more parallels with Hiroyuki.  Even if they didn’t both end up developing in the same way.  There were probably still a lot of differences.

Such as their feelings on their fathers.

“I take it that he was a really terrible dad then.  What was he?  Just a deadbeat or…?  Something worse?”  

“A-Ah, I see. Well I guess that saves the sorta embarrassment of not knowing what to say when they do something wrong that’s terribly obvious.” 

The most he was used to was laughing and calling them a dumbass. Internally anyway.

“Oh, uh- th-thanks.”

He gets red when Jito tells him good job. In order to combat this he pulls up his scarf over his cheeks and nose and looks away. Usually he’d be proud and let it fuel his ego, but because of his now self reflection phase, well, he didn’t exactly know how to reply aside from be embarrassed.

“Mhm! My mom would do anything for me and I just... I want to make sure she doesn’t work too hard.”

“It’s really... concerning when she starts to work her butt off and doesn’t really know when to stop.”

Hiroyuki appreciated Jito not prying in or encouraging him to come closer.

“Y-Yeah, I’ll try and keep that in mind and… let you know if it is a bit too cold.”

“Mhm! Winter has the best aesthetics and music themed around it. Not a lot of people tend to take stuff like that into consideration but I tend to do that. I’m just pretty… indifferent on the whole weather thing I just like how things look or sound when it comes to seasons.”

Why is why summer is my least favorite… it doesn’t really appeal to me. Plus the music associated with it is kinda… bleh.”

“Mmmmm… My mom can make stuff good out of anything. Although… I don’t have a big stomach since it’s so used to eating so little. Mom can really cook but for a while we’ve had to live off of small and light stuff. Cheap things.”

Hiroyuki cocked his head when Jito asked about his mom. Yeah he loved to talk about her, but it was always kinda strange when people asked about her. Still though, she loved to go off on how good she was so he really didn’t mind.

“Yeah my mom is really sweet! We’ve really only had each other and… the amount of patience she has for me is surprising.”

“Even when the world was cruel to her… to us… she never would forsake the world… Unlike I did.”

“She’d tell me that not everyone was the same and there was some good in the world and I’d never believe her…”

“…until recently anyway.”

It’s a relief to see Hiroyuki in such good spirits.  At first he was a kid, then a brat, and now he’s getting more than just that.

“Well that’s why you got picked for your talent.  Guessing you’ve got a good ear, for all sorts of things music related.  Maybe I could learn a thing or two, not that I’ll get on your level or anything but it never hurt to get a bit of understanding on these kind of things right?”

Plus he liked learning about his classmates talents.  It as fun to learn about dancing, singing, cheering, and all sorts of things.  Maybe if they weren’t trapped here that’s how he’d learn, though his classmates than by teachers.

“Heh… we’re kinda the same in that regard I guess.  It was only me and my mom for as long as I can remember.  How she managed to deal with me for as long as she did shows that she had the patience of a god.  But yeah…”

It’s funny that he thinks that they had similar ways of growing up.  Maybe Hiroyuki would’ve been better if he had a mentor like he did.

“Your mom sounds like a saint, I can’t say that the world as cruel to my mom or that I know what you two went through.  But she sounds like a wonderful woman and I’m glad that you were gifted with someone like that.”

And perhaps more proud of Hiroyuki that he didn’t resent the world anymore.

“That’s great!  She’s right you know, there are good people in the world.  There are bad people but there’s tons of good folk out there. I’m glad that you can see the world that way now.”

And now the painful part.

“I guess so. I’m majorly self taught with music actually, no one really taught me I was just... talented from the get go and grew on my own. But yeah, I can try to teach you. I’m not sure how well that would go though, ‘cuz I dunno how I’d do it.”

till getting used to the whole being nice, friendship thing. It was hard for someone like him who can’t recall ever being nice until just recently.

“Still though having someone teaching you would nice, I remember trying to mix for the first time and getting really intimidated and not knowing what I was doing so I settled on no mixing at all. Looking back at that old cover that got me my overnight following is like a trip, knowing how much you’ve improved.”

He let out a dry laugh at his old dumb self. Of course he’ll never admit looking back at him then made him grimace. He knew he was never as bad as he was back then. In a way he never improved and instead devolved, and it made him feel ashamed knowing that. 

“Really, she is a saint. While I tried to chip in, still do sometimes, she worked hard to keep us afloat and even now she does her darnedest to keep us comfy. She’s a hard worker, that’s for sure.”

He bit his lip.

Ah, right, his dad.

He looked to the side, and let out a deep breath in and another out. 

After the disaster that was the ranking results, Tsukiko retreated to her lab for awhile. However, she couldn’t bring herself to stay there for long, because too many thoughts were distracting her from work. What did Kioku say again? You had to deal with what you were distracted with head-on, so you could finally work in peace? Well, it was something akin to that, at least.

Still, even knowing that you had to deal with it, didn’t mean that Tsukiko knew how to go about it. Of course, the simple answer was to seek answers - but what if they couldn’t be provided? There were a lot of questions that none of her classmates could answer - and Monokumi refused to cooperate in a helpful manner.

Ugh, why was this such a troublesome kind of complicated…?

Nevertheless, Tsukiko found herself in front of Hiroyuki’s door. Out of everyone, he had it the worst - if no one would kill in the next four days, his life would be the first to perish. That must be… a bad feeling. A very bad one. Due to her own place, Tsukiko had no reason to be concerned for herself too much - so she wouldn’t be able to relate to the dread he was experiencing right now.

Still, she didn’t like seeing the young boy so distraught. In fact, she didn’t like to see anyone so angry and hurt. She really missed the beach party where everything had been just nice and friendly… putting aside the end of it, that is.

After a few more moments passed, Tsukiko finally knocked on Hiroyuki’s door. She had to think what to say before she did so - it’s not like she was used to trying to… comfort someone? Maybe?

“YukYuk? Are you there? Uhhhh… It’s okay if you don’t wanna step out! We can just talk through the door if you feel more comfortable about it!”

There really wasn’t much he could do to comfort himself. He knew it was best to be with someone he trusted that he knew would always be there for him, Shiba came to mind, but not knowing where exactly she was and at the risk of being around people? He didn’t want to.

He began to recite the names that he trusted, that he used enjoyed the presence of. He choked out a tearless sob as he remembered how they could do this to him. He was all cried out for once, so now he just felt hurt. He didn’t want to see them. 

His silence, save for the quiet and gentle music in the background, was interrupted as he heard a knock on the door. He listened for the voice, trying to recognize it.

Tsukiko.

What did she want? Why was she here? She was at the bottom of everyone’s kill list why did it matter to her that they talked? 

He stood up from the floor, gathering all his blankets of course, before sitting right next to the door and resting his head on it. 

“...What is it?”

A forest was no match for Hiroyuki! Or well, he liked to think so anyway. Truth to be told he regret not putting too much effort into physical education, or letting himself eat more. His puny body was already trembling just looking at this as he forced a smile to try and convince himself that he was a brave boy. Even if he wasn’t but that didn’t really matter.

His fear was soon replaced by not bravery, but confusion with fear lying in the back. There in front of him was a yellow sentai that could only make him mutter under his breath…

“Hah… What the fuck?”

He scratched his head, unsure of how exactly to react to the person in front of him. Sure! Sentai were fun! But did he want to meet one in real life? Probably not! One Kanpei known for five minutes was more than enough sentai he needed in his life.

He stepped forward, not really knowing what else to do. He still kept his distance though, too unsure of the person in front of him to make a clear judgement.

Alright, he’s starting to get closer. That’s progress! The super sentai thanks him with a peace sign, a gesture that surely confirms her Good Guy status. She gestures to the gnarly entrance to the Trials and Tribulations that await them in the Vigilante Forest. Those initial branches were going to be a problem, but one that she could help him through if Hiroyuki was here for more than a cursory glance.

He followed suit, trying to avoid as many as he could and push the remaining ones he could at least try to. He winced as he felt one or two scratch at his body. But thanks to this mysterious, totally not martial arts director, he was able to get past without getting completely scratched.

“Hehe… maybe.” 

That sounded like something he wanted to do in all honesty, too bad he didn’t think of that. 

He walked on over to where Jito was, hesitantly, before stopping in an effort to keep his distance. Unsure if he was welcome here. Jito seemed kind and more welcoming, but, he wasn’t sure. Jito seemed to have no bad intentions, and he… trusted him. Trusted him he wouldn’t do him harm.

But was he secretly spiteful of him back when he called him scum? He called Arisa that nickname? Back when he called him meanie? 

He knows he sure would have.

Hiroyuki turns red when Jito offers him his coat. Yeah, his pride has been taken down a notch, but would it still let him do that? Or did he just not want to be bothersome. He bit his lip and looked to the side, shivering more as he felt the cold bite at his nose. He adjusts his scarf to try and make it warmer.

“N-No I’ll be f-fine.”

He looked out to the lake as well, taking note of the awkward silence between them. He rubbed his hands again, god it was cold.

“Winter huh… well I guess it’s my favorite season?”

“Well, I like the aesthetics. It actually has my favorite out of any season, not the holiday aesthetic or anything like that but if you take the holiday part out… Winter can be a relaxing aesthetic. I like to listen to ambient music themed after it as well. Plus it’s an excuse to wrap myself up in blankets and get all cozy inside with a computer.”

“My mom makes really good cookies during the winter too!”

Jito doesn’t seem to mind that Hiroyuki was keeping his distance.  Despite his calming tone he knew that not everyone was probably comfortable being around others right now.  Truth be told he was a little happy to have some distance between the two of them.

“Alright, if it gets too cold though we can always go somewhere a little warmer.”

  There were plenty of places to have a good conversation after all.  

“Heh… knew it.  I figured that you’d be the type that liked that season.  Guess I was a little off though, I didn’t think much about the ambient music or sounds.”

Still he got the gist of it right.

“Yeah… mom’s are really nice.  Usually I was the one that did most of the holiday cooking and backing when the season came around.  But nothing really beats home cooking from a mom right?”

Oh how he’s be happy to just be sitting on the couch with his mom right now and watching the news.  

“…”

He seemed to hesitate as a thought passed through his mind.

“Hey, you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to… but do you want to tell me more about your mom?  She sounds like a really nice lady and I can tell that she probably took good care of you.”

With how highly he speaks of her there’s probably only good things.  But he has other suspicions.  

“Y-Yeah, I’ll try and keep that in mind and... let you know if it is a bit too cold.”

“Mhm! Winter has the best aesthetics and music themed around it. Not a lot of people tend to take stuff like that into consideration but I tend to do that. I’m just pretty... indifferent on the whole weather thing I just like how things look or sound when it comes to seasons.”

Why is why summer is my least favorite... it doesn’t really appeal to me. Plus the music associated with it is kinda... bleh.”

“Mmmmm... My mom can make stuff good out of anything. Although... I don’t have a big stomach since it’s so used to eating so little. Mom can really cook but for a while we’ve had to live off of small and light stuff. Cheap things.”

Hiroyuki cocked his head when Jito asked about his mom. Yeah he loved to talk about her, but it was always kinda strange when people asked about her. Still though, she loved to go off on how good she was so he really didn’t mind.

“Yeah my mom is really sweet! We’ve really only had each other and... the amount of patience she has for me is surprising.”

“Even when the world was cruel to her... to us... she never would forsake the world... Unlike I did.”

“She’d tell me that not everyone was the same and there was some good in the world and I’d never believe her...”

Hiroyuki really couldn’t figure out why he was here. Although he really couldn’t figure things out at all lately.

He hummed a tune as he wandered around the place that belonged to the person he couldn’t care less for at all. The tune was familiar and one that comforted him as he recited the lyrics in his head. He’d fall asleep to it back at home.

Oh how he wished he was back at home. Not in the place known as familiar to Arisa, but he still found himself here. Wandering as he hummed that tune he loved.

He didn’t notice anyone was here until someone spoke up, but this time he wasn’t… caught off guard. Rather he felt, relieved a bit that he had the familiar presence of Jito.

“Ah… yeah… I’m here. It’s kinda surprising to myself too.”

He says after letting his humming come to an abrupt stop.

He rubs his arms and breathes into his make shift scarf. He wasn’t wearing as many layers as he would usually when making up the mountain but it was still freezing. When he got out of here he really should invest in the right winter clothes if he could manage.

Hey at least he got to wear his pajamas underneath. It was comfy with them underneath, and with his mood right now anything comfy would make him at ease right now.

“Well they call this the reflection pool so maybe you were drawn by the urge to reflect upon yourself…”  

He tried to put on a cheeky smile.

“Or maybe not… sometimes wandering around is just what feels right?”  

His eyes narrowed as he saw Hiroyuki rubbing his arms and breathing into his scarf.  

“Are you cold?  I don’t mind lending you my jacket for a bit, it’s probably too big for you but that’ll probably make it more comfortable right?”

He was wearing a rather poofy jacket that was doing more than enough to keep him toasty.

“…”  

For a few seconds he was just silent looking out into the lake and not really thinking too much.

“…I never really liked winter that much.  Staying cooped inside only made me restless and if I played outside too long I’d get sick.  It as the worst… what about you Hiroyuki-san?  You seem like the type that probably likes the winter because you get to stay inside a bunch huh?”

“Hehe... maybe.” 

That sounded like something he wanted to do in all honesty, too bad he didn’t think of that. 

He walked on over to where Jito was, hesitantly, before stopping in an effort to keep his distance. Unsure if he was welcome here. Jito seemed kind and more welcoming, but, he wasn’t sure. Jito seemed to have no bad intentions, and he... trusted him. Trusted him he wouldn’t do him harm.

But was he secretly spiteful of him back when he called him scum? He called Arisa that nickname? Back when he called him meanie? 

He knows he sure would have.

Hiroyuki turns red when Jito offers him his coat. Yeah, his pride has been taken down a notch, but would it still let him do that? Or did he just not want to be bothersome. He bit his lip and looked to the side, shivering more as he felt the cold bite at his nose. He adjusts his scarf to try and make it warmer.

“N-No I’ll be f-fine.”

He looked out to the lake as well, taking note of the awkward silence between them. He rubbed his hands again, god it was cold.

“Winter huh... well I guess it’s my favorite season?”

“Well, I like the aesthetics. It actually has my favorite out of any season, not the holiday aesthetic or anything like that but if you take the holiday part out... Winter can be a relaxing aesthetic. I like to listen to ambient music themed after it as well. Plus it’s an excuse to wrap myself up in blankets and get all cozy inside with a computer.”

Within the dark woods of the Vigilante Research Lab shines a light, a masked defender of hope. Her yellow outfit contrasts sharply with her surroundings, allowing her to act as a beacon through the shroud. She spots someone near the entrance. Someone in need of help.

The super sentai strikes a pose, her right arm raising to the sky and her left arm stretching out, palm forward, as she adopts a low stance. She motions for Hiroyuki to come closer. There’s no need to be shy in the presence of a friend to everyone.

But just before he gets to her, she jumps out of her pose. She throws herself into an angled spin, her body tracing an arc as she lands with style. The sentai pops back up to show off a series of kicks, high to mid to low. She snaps a couple of fast punches at nothing for good measure, further showing off her skills.

His fear was soon replaced by not bravery, but confusion with fear lying in the back. There in front of him was a yellow sentai that could only make him mutter under his breath...

“Hah... What the fuck?”

He scratched his head, unsure of how exactly to react to the person in front of him. Sure! Sentai were fun! But did he want to meet one in real life? Probably not! One Kanpei known for five minutes was more than enough sentai he needed in his life.

Jito found himself sitting at the edge of the frozen lake in the SHSL Cheerleader lab.  He was playing around with the little ice shards that were on the table, trying to figure out how to piece it together.  He was humming to himself, for once able to enjoy a bit of piece and quiet to himself.  He was doing that a lot lately, trying o run and escape with only his thoughts for awhile.

Every so often he would look out at the mirror and simply gaze out for a few seconds in contemplative silence before going back to humming to himself and working on the frozen puzzle box.  

Though he stopped his puzzle playing as he could hear soft footsteps behind him.  Who could it be?  Arisa?  It was her lab?  But those weren’t the typical clicks of her heels but regular soft footsteps.

“Ah… Hiroyuki-san.  I didn’t think you’d ever come over to Ari-chan’s lab." 

He hummed a tune as he wandered around the place that belonged to the person he couldn’t care less for at all. The tune was familiar and one that comforted him as he recited the lyrics in his head. He’d fall asleep to it back at home.

Oh how he wished he was back at home. Not in the place known as familiar to Arisa, but he still found himself here. Wandering as he hummed that tune he loved.

He didn’t notice anyone was here until someone spoke up, but this time he wasn’t... caught off guard. Rather he felt, relieved a bit that he had the familiar presence of Jito.

“Ah... yeah... I’m here. It’s kinda surprising to myself too.”

He says after letting his humming come to an abrupt stop.

He rubs his arms and breathes into his make shift scarf. He wasn’t wearing as many layers as he would usually when making up the mountain but it was still freezing. When he got out of here he really should invest in the right winter clothes if he could manage.

Hiroyuki shakes his head. Sure she takes pride in being a dumbass but even she must know that he likes being condescending? Right? Does anybody here know what it means to be condescending? 

But he just smirked, letting her think that she’s the smarter right now. Time to display what real music was to him.

He leaned into the microphone and let his young boy like voice take over. He was naturally talented, and with a track record of around forty songs uploaded, practice in his own time, and singing before he started uploading, it really was no issue. 

“One more time! One more time!  I’ll roll on again today~!’”

He sang, loud and proudly, all while adding just a bit of emotion to increase the impact of the song. The song about the tragic story of a poor, bullied girl that moved people to tears. The instrumentals bopped so hard with the piano jamming in the background as his childish boy voice led the song with him dancing in place to the tune.

Jokes on Hiroyuki, Arisa doesn’t even know what the word condescending means. She has a vague idea that he’s trying to be insulting, but it’s not really working right now since she doesn’t get it all the way. Sometimes, the person you’re insulting is more than a little dense.

…She didn’t want to admit the kid was talented, but he was SHSL. Of course he was gonna be talented. It’s okay, Arisa, just don’t tell him you think that what he did was really cool. Just keep up the disinterested face. Don’t let the little gremlin know.

Once he was done, she looked up from where she had forced herself to examine her nails instead of watching the honestly really entertaining (and not in a mean way) show before her.

“L-Like…I’ve seen better.”

Sure, Arisa could choreograph the fuck out of a song, she couldn’t sing and dance at the same time. Her voice just wasn’t trained for moving and jumping and stuff like that. 

Nah, she wanted a ‘Normal fucking person song.’ He groaned, face palming. What even was that?

Hiroyuki walked back to the song booth, taking the disc out and putting it back in with care, not wanting to damage the CD. He examined the selection to find another one he liked before his eyes caught one done by a favorite producer of his.

“Define ‘Normal fucking person song’ because-”

He held up the disc for Arisa to see.

Hiroyuki nodded, scratching the back of his head. Lab neighbors was a lame term but he really couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.

“Is that what you’d call it? I mean… yeah we are?” 

He muttered something under his breath along the lines of, ‘I’d rather not have any partners of the sort but he shouldn’t be complaining.’

He walked over to the stool and sat on it. Not too sure what to do here. He really didn’t come here for food or anything but it was being offered, plus he can make sure from here that Mayumi wouldn’t try to poison his food or anything. And by poison he means pineapple.

He could be singing right now, but you can’t really sing on an empty stomach (but it wouldn’t be too hard considering how light it is.) Plus, he should talk about stuff. Shiba wants him to get to know other people right? Mayumi seemed… nice enough.

“Just something light if possible, nothing spicy.”

He wasn’t used to people being nice to him. 

Even if one of those people seemingly preparing pineapple to be used in ramen and making him fear for the unfortunate soul who’d eat that. And he didn’t even care for people!

He hadn’t even minded being called ‘the loud one’… perhaps the magic of ramen was smoothing things over? Mayumi certainly didn’t mind if Lab Neighbors was a bit corny, not when she had cooking at her fingertips!

She either ignored or didn’t notice Hiroyuki’s slight nerves, instead grabbing a ladle and beaming back at him.

“Something light? Let’s see–I bet I can do a quick shoyu, just for you… what’s your favorite topping? I’ve got everything you could want… ah! And some eggs already ready…” The pineapple at least was set far away from where she was beginning to set up ingredients… it… probably wasn’t going to make it into his bowl. But watch out.

Of course, once she was preparing food… she realized she had far fewer topics of conversation than initially expected, and as silence fell between them she felt a bead of sweat on her brow. Oh. Oh shoot, now what? She was cooking, but…

“S-so!”

“Eggs are just fine with me.”

He was praying that pineapple didn’t end up in his ramen.

Oh, that question? Wow he didn’t expect to hear that after so long. It was a suspiciously long while since someone asked and he was pretty sure these people weren’t too familiar with the net. He sighs, time for a quick overview.

“To sum it up we’re cover artists that upload pretty much exclusively to NicoNico, although sometimes we upload stuff on Youtube too lately. Of course we’re not just cover artists as sometimes we make originals, and parodies of other songs. But that’s pretty much the bottom line.”

Hiroyuki nods, surprised that someone helped him out. He shoved a hand into his pockets and the other rubbed under his nose, looking off to the side, kinda embarrassed.

“I knew that. I-I knew that…”

He walks over to the manga section to see if it had what he was looking for, all while overhearing Shu try to converse with him. Only he was just half listening.

“I uh- I dunno? They’re just kinda lame and… I- I don’t see much of a reason for being smart?”

“I’m already smart enough for the most perfect being in this universe! Plus I know I wanna do music in the future so I guess I had no need to be a lame nerd!”

Shu has to lean up in her bean bag to be able to see Hiroyuki as he browses. His unwavering confidence is something to behold. To openly call yourself perfect like that without any sense of shame…Shu wonders what that’s like.

“So, you don’t have a fallback plan, then? Me neither! There’s nothing I want to do as much as fight scene directing.”

“Although, not having a fallback plan may be a bit wrong of me to say. If worst came to worst and I couldn’t do this anymore, I suppose I could follow in my mom’s footsteps. She’s a kendo and iaido instructor, and an amazing one, too.”

“I don’t need a fallback plan honestly? It’s been working for me just fine. I’ve been singing for money for abooouuut almost ten years? I started when I was just eight haha! Pretty cool right? I didn’t start uploading until I was around twelve or thirteen I think... Overnight successes are fun!”

“I’ve been thinking about making originals but I actually have no idea. I’ve been thinking about making songs about just how much this world sucks but that’s about it so far. Writing lyrics is hard.”

“B-B-BUT YOU CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD! I DIDN’T THINK ANYONE WAS HERE! I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE MAKING SAND WHATEVER I GOT SCARED!”

Hiroyuki then jumped and ducked as Jito tossed the the metal bucket. Thankfully it didn’t hit him, much to his relief, it just ended up landing near his feet. He sighed, picking up the bucket. Should he get changed first? Was he supposed to wear a swimsuit?

Still carrying the bucket Hiroyuki looked up at Jito before looking to the side, not too sure how to answer.

“I uh… I’ve always been in the city. Never really been outside of where the town I lived in.”

I mean, it was true, just not the whole truth.

Jito has to suppress his urge to yell back and just swallows the heat riling up in his chest, letting out a heavy sigh.  

“Alright, alright, well look we’re here now.  No need to keep yelling.”  

Especially since he can’t have his singing voice all injured.

He looks as Hiroyuki holds the paint can.  

“Just fill it up with sand and pack it in, not too wet though or it’ll just plop out like mud.  But not too dry or you won’t be able to pack it.”  

He demonstrated by filling up a bucket with sand and packing it in before flipping it over. and Bam!  Instant Sand Castle… or at least a mound for one.

“Never gone on trips or anything like that either?  Not even for school?  Well I guess I can’t blame you if you haven’t been out.  Well no problem, beaches are swell cause you can be lazy or you can be active and just enjoy yourself.  Though you’ll probably need to get changed if you want to go into the water and surf.  Unless you want to get all wet in your usual clothes and hat.”

Which he figured Hiroyuki probably wouldn’t want to do.  

“By the way… can you not call Ari-chan a… Bi… Bi…” 

He can’t do it. 

He picked up the bucket, walking over to where Jito is. 

He grabs a handful of dry sand, dumping it in there, before grabbing a handful of wet sand. He grimaced as the sand got stuck to his fingers, but he continued.

“So... like this?”

Hiroyuki shook his head at Jito, also a nope. 

“School?”

Schools went to the beach? Why didn’t he know that? He looks to the side.

“Y-yeah we didn’t go to the beach haha! We had better places to! Within the area of course!”

The purple eye boy only furrowed his eyebrows and rolls his eyes, groaning at the mention of Arisa and his ask.

“I dunno, Bitchy-chan seems to suit her right now. Is she still going off about the serial dater thing? Guess what I dropped that, but apparently the only thing her single brain cell can remember is that I did that.”

“If she wants me to stop calling her “B-word”-chan then she should stop acting as though it’s the end of the world whenever I do so much as breathe the same air as her. The most I do is get in competition with her because I can’t let her think she’s better than me.”

Hiroyuki hummed, sure his music taste dated back to late 2000s, 2010s, but it was definitely better than whatever Arisa had taste in. He pulled up a CD labeled something with the word ‘Rolling’ in the title and smirked. He remembered the rocking instrumentals and the sad lyric content, the pitch he’d needed to sing it perfectly. 

He grinned, holding up the CD to Arisa, as if he was saying ‘You challengin’ me?’ This was real music in his eyes, and it was a song he could sing with no problems. It was perfect to show off to Arisa, get revenge on her for absolutely dominating him in the cheer leading contest. 

“Oh really? Let’s see just how you react when I make you regret not knowing me before. Hope you like piano!”

He loaded up the CD, not really caring too much about if Arisa was gonna object. Once he loaded it up he ran up to retrieve the mic, making sure it was turned as he waited to begin singing.

Arisa would very strongly argue against that point if it was ever voiced, but, as it wasn’t, she just scanned over the CDs looking for anything a normal person would listen to until her eyes landed on a 2010s pop CD from America. Did she usually ever understand what was being said in those songs? No, she barely passed English class. However, they were bops, and no one could argue that point. No one with taste, anyway, so Hiroyuki would naturally argue that.

What kind of song was he even planning on singing? She didn’t really recognize what he held up to her so she just figured that she would let him do him and live in whatever fantasy land he lived in where she recognized it. If he wanted to feel like hot shit by trying to beat her (and, realistically, beating her) in a singing competition, then she would let him. For now.

She holds herself back from laughing.

“You’re pathetic if you think I’ll ever feel bad for not knowing Mr. Anime Kid before we spoke the first time, Hiroyucky. Also, like, shouldn’t you say ‘hope you hate piano’ if you wanted to make me miserable? Get your fucking insults right, at least.”

But he just smirked, letting her think that she’s the smarter right now. Time to display what real music was to him.

He leaned into the microphone and let his young boy like voice take over. He was naturally talented, and with a track record of around forty songs uploaded, practice in his own time, and singing before he started uploading, it really was no issue. 

“One more time! One more time!  I’ll roll on again today~!’”

Even Tsukiko didn’t quite understand why she was back in the Narrator’s lab, down where Ryuu had been fighting for his life against a robot made by Noel. It still felt… surreal that neither of them were around anymore. Well, less so Ryuu and more so Noel, really. It just didn’t feel… right.

“Hmmmm…”

Tsukiko was sitting on top of the coffin, currently reading a book about robotics. While she could’ve done it in her own lab, she desired a change in scenery. Thus, her feet lead her somehow to this place.

“I see… Hm, that shouldn’t be too hard…”

She continued to mumble to herself, before turning to the next page. Apparently, she’s been so focused with the task at hand that she didn’t realize that someone came down to the lab…

Of course he didn’t expect to see a peer of his in his lab, completely engrossed in a book. He bit his lip, before a mischievous grin painted his face. He tried to stay as quiet as possible sneaking and sneaking, hoping that Tsukiko wouldn’t notice him. 

Until he raised his voice into a yell suddenly, hoping to spook Tsukiko.

So far this place was perfect for him. A beach, sure, okay, he really didn’t know what to do there as he had never actually been to a beach before (no beach episode anytime soon for him) and he couldn’t swim so he can’t actually go to the boat… but this was a palace! That’s all he could ever want from here.

Although there was still one last thing he had yet to check out though, and that was the door behind the throne.

Hiroyuki hummed, wanting to know just what this door was leading to. It was behind a throne, so it must be special, and from what the map told him, he would be greeted with a ramen shop. Sure he wasn’t exactly the hungriest now but it couldn’t hurt to check it out.

“Oh, hiya!”

He was taken by surprise by the Mayumi, not exactly expecting someone else to be here.

She didn’t seem to notice Hiroyuki’s surprise, nor show any bother at having a guest in her kitchen, too busy dismembering the pineapple into convenient chunks.

“Hiroyuki-kun, right? The… loud one? Guess we’re lab neighbors, or something!”

She turned to wipe off her blade and then pulled over a stool, nudging it towards him. The thought that he might just be looking around didn’t even occur to her–why would someone come to a ramen shop? There was only one reason, of course!

“Is that what you’d call it? I mean... yeah we are?” 

He muttered something under his breath along the lines of, ‘I’d rather not have any partners of the sort but he shouldn’t be complaining.’

He walked over to the stool and sat on it. Not too sure what to do here. He really didn’t come here for food or anything but it was being offered, plus he can make sure from here that Mayumi wouldn’t try to poison his food or anything. And by poison he means pineapple.

He could be singing right now, but you can’t really sing on an empty stomach (but it wouldn’t be too hard considering how light it is.) Plus, he should talk about stuff. Shiba wants him to get to know other people right? Mayumi seemed... nice enough.

“Just something light if possible, nothing spicy.”

He wasn’t used to people being nice to him.