AYUMU: *Sigh* "I skipped school. Am I causing trouble for everyone by quitting?
I'm too scared to tell them, I'm too scared to check my phone..."
AKI: "Right now I don't see that cute outcast in the bunny suit who played off to the side alone.
All I see right now is a fucking hypocrite who doesn't understand what it means to care about the dreams of others! UNDERSTAND ALREADY!"
AYUMU: *Sniff* "Aki...where did we go wrong?
Why did you change?
Was it me?
I don't know... But what I do know is that this isn't like you... This isn't you.
This isn't same boy that I-"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
AYUMU: "Wh-Who is it?!"
SHIORIKO: "It's me. President Mifune."
AYUMU: "Sh-Shioriko?! Wh-Why have you come all the way to my house?!"
SHIORIKO: "May I come in?"
AYUMU: "Oh, um, sure."
SHIORIKO: "Thanks."
AYUMU: "So, uh... What made you drop by all of a sudden?"
SHIORIKO: "I have come to pay you a visit as I heard you were absent from school."
AYUMU: "So that's why you came all this way?"
SHIORIKO: "It is still Odaiba, I can travel such a distance.
How are you feeling? Is it okay for you to be up and about like this?"
AYUMU: "Ack, sorry for making you worry about me. Um, I actually skipped school today. I just didn't feel like going."
SHIORIKO: "I see. As long as you're safe, as long as you're okay, then that's fine."
AYUMU: "Y-You're not gonna get mad at me? What I'm doing is definitely something that I deserve to be lectured about."
SHIORIKO: "Do you want to be lectured?"
AYUMU: "Well, no..."
SHIORIKO: "Then I won't. I am sure there are days when you just don't feel like going to school. I don't quite understand that myself, however."
AYUMU: "I don't feel like going to school, and I've quit being a school idol without telling anyone. I really am pathetic...
Hey, Shioriko? I really don't know what to do right now."
SHIORIKO: "Why is that?"
AYUMU: "I feel so lonely I could die. He was my best friend in the whole world and... now he's gone."
SHIORIKO: "Suzuki..."
AYUMU: "He was so kind, so caring. He always looked out for me, whenever I was sad or scared he was there to make me feel safe. But now... He's the one who is making me sad, it's like I don't know him at all anymore."
SHIORIKO: "So, he wasn't always like this? What changed him?"
AYUMU: "I would say school idols, but he was still the same kind and caring person. Just not only to me, but our whole club.
I think he's been holding back his emotions so much that I'm the one who pushed him too far. He's not the type of boy to say things like that... Is he? Or, did I just not see the true him at all?"
SHIORIKO: "..."
AYUMU: "Um, do you mind if I ask you something? What do you think I'm best suited to--"
SHIORIKO: "Uehara."
AYUMU: "Yeah?"
SHIORIKO: "Might I suggest we step outside for a change of pace? You will feel even more depressed if you stay cooped up in your room."
...
AYUMU: "It feels like a while since we last came here. Even if I didn't have anything to buy, Aki- *Ahem* he and I used to always hang out here.
We haven't been doing that lately though... Because I've been busy with school idol stuff every day...
Oh, I know. Maybe I'll get back into some knitting. Can we go look at this store?"
SHIORIKO: "Sure."
...
AYUMU: "Oh my gosh, I bought so much! I pretty much used up all my allowance."
SHIORIKO: *Chuckle* "Seeing that shopping spree of yours was quite exhilarating."
AYUMU: *Giggle* "There was just so much I wanted to buy since I haven't been there in a while."
SHIORIKO: "Not only do you knit, but you also cook and make accessories. You have quite the array of hobbies."
AYUMU: "Yeah, I think you're right about that. I was completely consumed by school idol activities, but it looks like there's a life for me outside of that after all.
I gotta get back all of the time I couldn't spend on my hobbies. There's so much to do starting tomorrow. Looks like I'm not gonna be bored for a while, ahaha."
SHIORIKO: "Are you... really okay with that?"
AYUMU: "Am I okay with what?"
SHIORIKO: "Not being a school idol. Are you going to quit?"
AYUMU: "...I already have. I've had enough, I'm sick of it. I mean, it's not like I actually liked school idols to begin with, it's just something he dragged me into doing. And it's not something I wanted to do either."
SHIORIKO: "And what about your fan club that Suzuki mentioned?"
AYUMU: "I don't care about that. It's not like they saw me as a friend anyway. I'm sure this id the right choice. All I'm doing is going back to who I originally was."
SHIORIKO: "I see. To me, you appeared to be having a lot of fun as a school idol."
AYUMU: "Did I?"
SHIORIKO: "On the day before the Club Introductions, you kept practicing even when I told you to stop, didn't you?"
AYUMU: "O-Oh, well... That was..."
SHIORIKO: "That was what?"
AYUMU: "I know! Because I was representing everyone! I just felt like I had to carry their feelings with me!"
SHIORIKO: "Yes, you do care a great deal for the club."
AYUMU: "That's not true..."
SHIORIKO: "That's a lie. Personally, I have mixed feelings towards school idols.
However, even I understand how irreplaceable that environment is after temporarily joining the club myself.
Everyone in the club seemed to have a sparkle to them. Including you."
AYUMU: "What?"
SHIORIKO: "You shined brightly. Both in practice and performance."
AYUMU: "A-Ahaha... Thanks, Shioriko. Funny joke."
SHIORIKO: "It's not a joke."
AYUMU: "But, you know what? I've had enough. I don't have any reason to be a school idol anymore."
SHIORIKO: "Is that so?"
AYUMU: "...More than anyone in the world. I adore him. We've been together ever since we were kids... And he's my number one source of motivation when it comes to being a school idol."
SHIORIKO: "...May I ask you something? Do you regret becoming a school idol?"
AYUMU: "No. I was really happy and had a lot of fun knowing that there were people cheering even someone like me on."
SHIORIKO: "Even someone like you?"
AYUMU: "Yes, but I'm not special, I'm completely ordinary. I don't stand out and that's why I dragged them all down and always came last.
I wasn't cut out for it anyway, it was nice to have a small amount of fans, but now... Um, I couldn't care less anymore."
SHIORIKO: "If you're all right with that, then so be it. I will not say otherwise. However, if there is something you perhaps need me to do..."
AYUMU: "Thanks, Shioriko. Maybe I'll drag you along to go shopping with me again." *Chuckle*
...
SHIORIKO: "So, he was kind before all of this. Maybe he isn't like his father after all.
The School Idol Festival is a huge responsibility... I've seen how that kind of pressure can change people... It's just like what happened to Kaoruko."