MaM VS fine – Prologue
Chapter Index
Chapter 1
November, two years after the establishment of ES, in a coffee shop located in Season Avenue.
(… Oh? Looks like he’s not here yet.)
(I’m absolutely certain this was the time we agreed on.)
(Oh, well. Always better to wait than to keep others waiting.)
(I’ve been running around since right after I got out of the Megasphere, so I might as well take it easy right now.)
—Alright, I’ll take a window seat. Can I have a coffee and a slice of cheesecake, please?
Also, I’m waiting for someone, so could you let them know that I’m here? Thank you.
(… Phew.)
(The shop’s music is pretty relaxing to wait to.)
(The Megasphere’s so hectic, every single day in there goes by like a flash.)
(Whether it’s the World Tour or whatever else, there’s always some big fuss happening…)
(But, surprisingly, everything outside is perfectly normal. Just the same old atmosphere I’m familiar with.)
(Of course, everybody is scrambling to cover the news, with TV features and the like…)
(But idol culture is just so entrenched in Japan that even a worldwide event is just a feature of everyday life.)
(I prefer it that way, personally. Lets me do things at my own pace.)
(I mean, seeing as I’ll be going against—)
—Mikejima-kun, sorry for making you wait.
…Hm? Ohh.
It's been so long since we last spoke, Captain. I hope you have been doing well.
You can just call me Akagi, you know? I haven’t been the captain of Ryuseitai for a long time now. 1
Also, why are you being so formal? Did you have a change of character since the last time I saw you?
Even when you first joined Ryuseitai, I remember you having a very unfreshman-like attitude, saying things like “let’s get along~!”.
Ah… Haha. Sorry about that, Akagi-san.
I haven’t seen you in so long that I forgot how I used to speak to you. I mean, it’s already been a whole three years since we last saw each other.
Oh, that long already? I haven’t had a minute of rest in the time I’ve been in the States, and the country’s huge, so my sense of time is not the best.
This is the first time I’ve come back since I graduated from Yumenosaki. I wasn’t expecting this street to have turned so beautiful.
So I got totally lost on the way here. Once again, sorry for the wait.
Don’t worry about it, I just got here myself.
… Makes sense, though. From your perspective, everything in this neighborhood must look unrecognizable.
That’s interesting. In my case, I’ve been watching those changes from the inside.
Oh, but you yourself don’t look like you’ve changed one bit.
You do seem a bit more laid back, like you’d expect with age. But other than that, you’re exactly as I remember you.
It makes it easy to talk to you casually.
Haha. On the other hand, I think you’ve changed a lot.
I don’t remember you ever wearing sunglasses back then, and now you have them on even indoors.
Oops, guess I forgot to take them off. Thanks for the reminder.
The sunlight is really strong on the West Coast, so I originally started wearing them out of necessity.
The habit just stuck too hard. Just to be clear, I’m not trying to act like a celebrity or anything, okay?
Don’t worry, I get it. I also wore them a lot in my own time in the States, and I wouldn’t go anywhere without sunscreen.
More importantly, I’m glad to see you’re doing well.
I remember you leaving the country to pursue your dream of being an action star before the graduation ceremony even happened. So, how’s life in the United States?
Well, it’s had its ups and downs. It hasn’t been exactly smooth sailing.
I went over there with such high hopes, only to end up having a few days of work in a whole month, all while I had to put food on the table for myself.
For a while, I did action shows on the streets of Las Vegas that I’d get paid for by the day.
From that, I made connections that allowed me to join another agency, but they didn’t do a lot for me, either.
In the end, I started my own agency. I got into the business of scouting other Japanese action performers and giving them work.
Ohh, so you’re still doing pretty much the same as when you were the captain of Ryuseitai.
You didn’t just focus on your own work, but you also passed jobs to your teammates, right?
… Haha, I guess you’re right.
Thinking about it like that, maybe this line of work was always in the cards for me.
No, maybe I shouldn’t phrase it like it was a work of fate. I chose this path and cleared the way for it with my own efforts.
Well, in any case, I’m glad I didn’t have to come back with my tail between my legs.
It would’ve been pretty lame if I’d left the country with all those ambitions only to turn back around immediately, right?
You think so? If you ask me, I think switching gears sooner rather than later would’ve been a perfectly respectable choice—
But maybe, struggling against adversity is what a hero would do.
By the way, why are you back in Japan? Do you have something important to attend to?
Yeah, it’s really important.
I heard you’d be participating in that world tour by the name of MM.
So I reached out to you for the first time in a while, and I was a little restless while waiting for a response.
I couldn’t keep standing around, so I headed straight for the airport.
Wow…
It’s still impressive how decisive you are.
So even Americans are talking about MM… I guess it makes sense, actually, seeing as one of the matches will be held there.
But still, why go through the trouble of meeting me in person?
We could always have videocalled or just texted instead.
Come on, that’s a little sad.
It’s not the same if it’s through a screen. When you’re not talking face to face, you’re missing part of the experience.
You know, it was really surprising to hear that you’d left Ryuseitai…
But I’m really glad you stayed an idol.
I’ve been rooting for you and your solo career as MaM this whole time.
When they’d make crazy demands of me and I was just about ready to give up, watching your videos would give me the strength to keep on going.
… Hm, maybe I’m starting to sound like an overzealous fan.
Sorry. It’s just that you’re a hero to me. ♪
Translation Notes
- ↑ Akagi is written as 赤木, the japanese name for bishop wood, with the characters literally meaning “red tree”. For further clarity, Akagi should be this character’s surname.