Submarine: Prologue
Jun. 15th, 2021 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verdantgrove
<Mid-November, directly before the start of the SS qualifying round>
Kuro: Hasumi… Kanzaki… Sorry, but ‘m done for—
Keito: Don’t quit now, Kiryu! Aren’t you supposed to be a strong man?!
Souma: That is right, Kiryu-dono! We as Akatsuki grew able to overcome any hardship, no matter the situation or severity, when the three of us came together, did we not?!
Kuro: Haha. Yeah, we never lost to anyone.
Whenever the three of us got together, we’d be invincible. Made it pretty clear that Akatsuki’s not just gonna do things with grace, we’re gonna win with grace too.
But still, this time I’m really done for. No way I can go on… Our journey ends here.
I’m so pathetic, whinin’ like this… But maybe all that is just showin’ the kinda guy I’ve been all along.
Keito: Kiryu, this isn’t like you!
Souma: Precisely as Hasumi-dono said! It pains us to see you in such a state, Kiryu-dono!
It is said that if you clear your mind of all mundane thoughts, you should find even fire cool! That is your nature! There is no logical reason you would ever succumb to any foe, given the strength of both your body and soul!
Keito: That’s right, Kiryu! You need to stay strong!
Don’t let the likes of seasickness get the best of you…!
Kuro: Urgh… I-I get it, I’ll stay strong. So quit shaking me like that.
You guys haven’t had to deal with motion sickness, so you wouldn’t get what I’m feelin’ right now.
I got the picture by now, so at least leave me alone ‘til we get to Okinawa, for God’s sake. I’m beggin ya, I don’t wanna have to resort to lashing out and hitting you guys ‘til you cut it out.
Souma: Hmm… I am well aware that you’ve a distaste for moving vehicles, Kiryu-dono, but I had never expected you would have been so extremely prone to seasickness. Are you truly alright? Your complexion is deathly pale.
Keito: Yeah, I’m worried… What about you, Kanzaki? Are you feeling okay? Do you want to take something for motion sickness just in case?
Souma: I shall refrain. Quite contrary to expectation, when I ingest such kinds of medication, my condition seems to worsen. Thus, though it may do me more harm than good, I take great care when choosing what goes into my body at all times.
Keito: Hmm. Well, just like anything else, too much medication will just poison you. Taking any kind of medicine when you’re feeling fine will only disrupt your internal homeostasis, and so nothing good will come of it, hm?
But well, this is just plain misfortune. To think, when the SS qualifying round is being held nationwide, we’d be the ones selected to go to the farthest southern reaches of the country—Okinawa.
Souma: Mhm. Were we selected to participate somewhere nearby, running to reach our station would have also served as a fine warm-up exercise.
Keito: Unlike you two, my stamina isn't that great. You do realize it’d be impossible for me to perform after running a distance like a full-length marathon, right?
Anyway, if possible, I’d like to start mobilizing the moment we arrive at the location.
Kiryu begged us to avoid taking anything that flies at all costs, so that’s why we chose to go by boat.
But compared to the other idols associated with ES who travelled by plane, we’ll be taking a lot longer to get there. So on account of that, we’ll be getting a relatively late start.
To make matters worse, I’ve heard that it’s essentially like a ruthless battleground over there, where the idols local to Okinawa have a great advantage. I can only hope that we manage to avoid any unpleasant consequences of our late arrival from here on out.
Souma: Though I very much agree with such a sentiment, I am afraid that we are left with no other choice but to accept said consequences. We absolutely cannot leave Kiryu-dono behind simply because of his resentment for moving vehicles.
Keito: Right. For the duration of the qualifying round, it’s prohibited for any of us idols to leave our designated region.
Similarly, in the event that we’re unable to arrive at the location for the qualifying round, we’d likely be disqualified.
Therefore, it’s utterly essential that all three of us reach Okinawa—even if that means we have to crawl.
Souma: Mhm… Though this is a cruel development for Kiryu-dono, he will have no other choice but to endure it for Akatsuki’s sake.
Keito: But it is Kiryu we’re talking about, so I’m sure he’ll be okay. However, what I’m worried about is the effects of his motion sickness prolonging and unexpectedly damaging his physical condition.
Not to mention that we’ll be fighting in a different environment than usual this time.
If Kiryu were to get sick when we’re already getting a late start as is, we’ll just rack up loss after loss—or something like that. All we can do at that point is pray things turn out in our favor.
Souma: Hmm. That is precisely the path that we as Akatsuki were headed down until the events of Unification by Force. I am hardly one to be superstitious, but this seems to me a terribly bad omen.
Keito: Hmph. It’s alright, Kanzaki. We won’t make the same mistake twice, nor will we lose to the same foe twice. We’ll overcome both failure and defeat, and be stronger for it, no matter where we’re fighting.
The ones to emerge victorious from this fierce battlefield that is Okinawa will be us—Akatsuki.
Souma: (Hmm… Speaking with such a tone of voice as that, it feels almost as if he is convincing himself that that is the sure outcome.)
(His ever so reliable partner Kiryu-dono is in poor health, and so his heart is likely plagued with feelings of uneasiness.)
(And so I believe that now more than ever, I must be reliable and composed. However...)
(It truly seems as though Hasumi-dono harbors that same sentiment as I. Upon this occasion, he is attempting to allow me to decide upon our course of action for some unknown reason.)
(Asking such things as “Kanzaki, what do you think we should do?” and “Kanzaki, what do you want to do?”, assuring me that “Kanzaki, you can decide, you know?”... There is something so strangely unnatural about his concerted effort to prod for my judgement.)
(I had thought that Hasumi-dono well understood my desire to obey my seniors. However, perhaps it is the case after all that he is so burdened with anxiety that he is desperately trying to cling to me and others around him.)
(Though the more specific aspects are unclear to me still, we have quite a significant amount of difficulties ahead of us indeed. Well, for us, such a thing is far from a novel experience.)