(...They’re communicating through eye contact. Well, I can’t tell if they actually understand each other, but.)
(I’m still surprised. I felt it when we were training together, but Ogami isn’t all talk.)
(He has talent and charm, though he’s still unpolished and inconsistent.)
(Maybe it’s because he looks to him as an example, but when Sakuma-san is close by, he becomes shockingly steady.)
(He must really love Sakuma-san... Love makes people stronger.)
(That is a universal truth, shared among all stories.)
(Rock was the right choice for this stage. It’s a genre Ogami likes, and Sakuma-san also has experience with.)
(Actually, rock is more widely-known than idols as a cultural phenomenon abroad.)
(Sakuma-san also knows the kinds of guests who attend this underground livehouse.)
(That’s why he’s appealing to them with radical language. Goodness, what do you mean, “Tremble where you stand, masses”?)
(I’m the only one here who hasn’t studied up enough, but I’ve spent the past week working hard so that I can at least match them.)
(I can tell. I feel confident; we, right now, are strong.)
(We’re on the same level as “Valkyrie,” who are already recognized and respected by the entertainment business—no, we aren’t inferior even compared to professionals.)
(Ah, this is fun—to be intertwined with a greater force; to be melted down to the marrow and become one.)
(Your silhouette disappears, and you become part of something brilliant.)
(With a passion that cannot be produced on your own, you can venture into a story that cannot be achieved alone.)
(I love this feeling. I feel just as omnipotent, or perhaps even more omnipotent, than when I’m drawing manga.)
(In this moment—in this space only—we are gods ruling this world. It gives you that illusion.)
(I feel like I’ve become a necessary character in this world, in this story known as reality.)
(It makes me feel so happy—so unbelievably fortunate. Ah, this is why I wanted to become an idol.)
(Writing manga allows you to become a god-like figure within that story. But, if possible, I wanted to become a character in this world, where I live and breathe—.)
(I don’t have to be the main character; I’m not made for such a role. But I still wanted to be a character within a wonderful story.)
(A character who is cheered for, a character who is loved and recognized.)
(Idols, who captivated even my difficult childhood friend—even Eichi—I, too was entranced...)
(And wished to become “one of them.”)
(Idols are fascinating people; the kinds of people who would appear in the novels, manga, and stories that I couldn’t stop reading.)
(They don’t live in the depths of the mountains, cut off from everyday life—they live in this world with chaotic, bustling perspectives.)
(I admired them. That was why I came down from the mountains, stepped into this floating world, and now sing on stage.)
(I might be rightfully lectured as a novice who still needs practice, a vulgar man who is still far from enlightenment, but.)
(I want to believe that this dream—that this prayer—is not a sin.)
(Eichi. Your dream and my dream might not be exactly the same.)
(Perhaps, it is possible that... our goal to become better idols just happens to be the one thing that matches up.)
(For it seems that you harbor a pitch-black and muddy hatred within your chest—something that even I, who have known you for years, cannot comprehend.)
(A darkness that cannot be purified, no matter how many times I recite the sutra.)
(But I still want to save you. Because you have always been my one and only comrade.)
(It’s as if we are separate halves who share the same soul. You are no stranger; you are my very best friend.)
(And I am the son of a temple. Even an incomprehensible creature who is not loved by anyone—it is a monk’s role to hold them close, to love them, to save them.)
(By helping you—you, who are just like me—I feel like I myself can achieve salvation as well.)
(Making your dream come true is the same as making my own dream come true.)
(...Isn’t that right, Eichi? My first, my one and only reader.)
(Let us weave stories together. Let us enjoy them, just as we did when we were little children.)
(Buddha, please guide me; I pray that the path I walk is the righteous one.)
Don't!!!!!
. Don't come here. S̶t̵a̶n̶ ̸W̵a̵t̸a̸K̴e̴i̷ ̶!̷!̷!̴ Go back. .
I think you should all appreciate my wonderful s/o
. Does anyone even like me enough? S̶̡̡͈͕̼͉̤̀̅͋̌t̶̨̛̬̘̘̤̠̩̆͌̈́̇a̶͇̕͜n̴̺͈͚̩̘̋̍̉͋̈́͆ͅ ̷̢̢̢̫̹̺͇͗Ẅ̸̡̦̫̹̱͈̭̦͐̆̈́̆̍ḁ̶̛͙̣͔͌̍͗̕͝ţ̸̧̘̟͍̭̐͊͌̓͒̎̕ͅạ̷̦͖̟̮̮̦̑̕K̸̘͉͕̮̳͑͑̓̃̽̌ě̸͓̹̤̬̓͒͝ị̴͉͕̘̺̞̹̹̔ ̵̨̜̱̺͚̠͔͍̃̋̑̓̿!̵̢͇̣̫̙̭͖̩̂͗!̷̢̭͈̼̺͎͐!̵̠͂ͅ Why should anyone even care about me? .