Chapter Text
This city really is Haruka’s favorite place to be.
Vivid Street at night is simply divine.
So after An and Haruka were done helping out at the café, An had dragged her out to spend time in the city.
But they soon see a crowd gathering, and they quickly join them.
The BAD DOGS are singing as hard as they can, up against…
Oh, son of a bitch.
“I can’t believe it.” Haruka whispers, and An turns to Haruka.
“What? You know that guy?”
Haruka turns back to An.
“Huh? An, that’s Arata.”
An looks at Arata and back at Haruka, and her eyes narrow.
“That’s Arata Tono? The guy who people are saying’ll surpass RAD WEEKEND?”
Haruka puts her head in her hands.
“An, listen. Look at him.”
An does, and Haruka points to him.
“Now picture him holding a fancy film camera in his left hand and Souma hanging off his right arm.”
An focuses on him intently, and…
“Holy shit!”
“Yeah, he came back and didn’t tell anyone. I can’t believe that asshole.”
“I can’t believe he actually got tall too.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s not tiny anymore.”
“Is he having a battle with the BAD DOGS?”
“Looks like it.”
Their turn ends, and it’s clear they’ve improved a lot.
They did really well. She can’t wait to see Arata’s…
Wait, why does he still look so cocky?
And then he sucks in a breath.
And he starts singing.
It’s like all the air has been sucked out of the audience.
God… Haruka knew he’d gotten better, but this much?
The entire audience is under his complete control, and everyone is cheering for him by the end of his song.
Everyone except Haruka.
Something’s off here.
“Shinonome, you’re the least interesting of the bunch.”
Oh. That’s what’s off.
“What the hell?” An hisses. “Why would he say that?! Didn’t everyone used to say that about—”
“Yep. Don’t worry. Let me handle this.” Haruka says, pushing through the crowd until she’s face to face with Arata.
“Haruka?” Akito asks, and Arata looks at her with a dispassionate eye.
“You’re Kiritani, huh? Here to defend your teammate? Want a turn?”
And instead of responding, she backhands him as hard as she possibly can.
An is cheering from the back, yelling out “That’s my wife!”
Arata groans in pain and glares at her.
“The hell was that for? I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true!”
“Oh, that one wasn’t for Akito.” She snaps, before slapping him again. “That one was for him.”
“Then the hell was the last one for?!”
“Souma. You know, who you haven’t called in three years and who’s fucking missed you, asshole, and you know some of us—”
Suddenly, An bolts through the crowd and grabs Haruka from behind to stop her from lunging at Arata.
“Haruka, don’t—” She tries, but Haruka’s too damn angry to listen to her.
“And then you come home and pull this shit?!” She screeches. “No call, no text, no popping into WEEKEND GARAGE just to say ‘Hey, Haruka-chan, I’m sorry for just ditching you for three years?!’ You show up by insulting Akito like this?!”
There’s a flash of recognition in Arata’s eyes, and suddenly his cocky demeanor softens.
“An-chan and Haruka-chan… god, I’m an idiot.”
“‘An-chan’? You know this guy?” Akito asks, and An tries her best to respond while holding Haruka back.
“Yeah, I do. Long story, he’s just really gay and sad and making it everyone else’s problem. Don’t listen to anything he says.”
“Hey! I’m right about him, you know!” Arata doubles down, and Haruka suddenly gets deathly quiet.
“…You’re about to regret saying that.” She whispers.
“Haruka-chan, nice try, but I’m not scared of—”
“You’re saying the same things that the older singers used to say about your partner.”
That shatters Arata’s confidence, and he looks like he’s about to cry.
“Told you so. Anyway, get on a train, go talk to your partner, and then maybe come back and act like a normal person. Alternatively, I could just kick you in the dick repeatedly.”
“…Yeah, I think I’ll do the first one.” Arata chokes out, and he proceeds to speedwalk away in an attempt to hide that he’s crying.
“What the fuck just happened?” Akito asks.
“Don’t worry about it. Just forget that guy exists for now.” Haruka responds, wriggling out of An’s grasp.