Chapter Text
“Wake up…”
I heard a voice, and responded with a grumble.
“Too early…”
“Aira, wake up!! It’s me, Hiiro! We’re not at Ensemble Square!”
My eyes opened wide, and I shot up from the ground. Hiiro’s face was inches above my own, and after processing for a few seconds, I slapped it away.
“Ow!”
“Hiro-kun, too close—!”
“Aira, this is bad! We were at practice, and now we’re here! I don’t know where Tatsumi and Mayoi are!”
I looked around the room. The first thing I noticed is that this was indeed—not Ensemble Square. This place was dark, worn down, and poorly decorated. There were brick walls painted hot pink with peeling music note stickers on it, and graffiti that said “Despair Square.” I also noticed a rising figure next to what appeared to be a vending machine. I looked closer, and saw a familiar head of red hair with white streaks.
“So loUD! No senSE of respECT whatsoever!!”
“Sakasaki-senpai…?” “Sakasaki!” Hiiro and I shouted in unison.
“Yes, it is indEED me! Where aRE we!?”
“That’s what I wanna know!” I yelled, frustrated. “You sure this isn’t SHINSEKAI or something?”
“This is nOT SHINSEKAI,” said Natsume. “I can’t get any informATION on anything! I admIT, I am quITE worried.”
“Natsume-chan!” A voice called. “I just woke up in that room over there, and I was looking for you and Sora everywhere!”
“You stupid fuzzy hairED old man!” Natsume grumbled. “What did you do to brING us heRE!??”
“Why are you blaming me…?” Tsumugi groaned.
Suddenly, I heard more voices—
“Non! What on earth is this atrocious interior design!? My dog could do better than whatever this monstrosity is!”
“Ngah? Oshi-san, ya don’t have a dog…”
“Yume’s turtle could do better.”
“Yume, ya never said ya had a turtle!”
“Kagehira! Itsuki! Hanamura!” I shouted.
“Is that Shiratori?” Mika wondered out loud, and I heard three sets of footsteps as 3 new faces entered the room.
“Yes, it’s me! I’m with Hiro-kun, Aoba, and Sakasaki!”
“Ah, the kid’s here,” said Shu.
“Who elSE have you seEN?” Natsume asked.
“Well,” said Shu, “The other nine have already gone to the lobby, as directed. Supposedly, there are sixteen of us, you 4 were the last to wake up.”
“Wha?” Mika asked.
“In one ear and out the other,” Shu grumbled.
“Wait,” I said, “Does that mean everyone else from Ensemble Square is looking for us?”
“…unfortunately, we cannot check, for our phones have been confiscated,” said Shu.
“What!?” I dug through my pockets, and sure enough, my phone wasn’t there. Suddenly, there was a ringing noise coming from what appeared to be a speaker on the wall. A feminine voice crackled through the speaker.
“Hahaha! Slacking, are we? Meet me in the lobby, and quit dawdling! You call yourself idols!? This is hilarious! You guys seriously suck!”
“Shut up!” Shu yelled. “Well, let’s head over.”
…
Sure enough, there were nine other people in the lobby, aside from me and the other six I had arrived with. I recognized a few familiar faces—
“Tatsun-senpai!” I yelled.
“Ah, it’s Hiiro and Aira. Hello there, it’s nice to see you~”
“Who else is here?” I asked.
“Well, aside from myself and the seven of you, all of Crazy:B aside from Kohaku is here, as well as Kanzaki, Hasumi, Yuuki, Izumi, and Tsukinaga.”
“Ugh, Rinne’s here…?”
“Hey! Quit talkin’ crap about me, ain’t I yer brother in law!?” The mentioned person snuck up behind me, and slung an arm over my shoulder.
“Ughh, get away from me! Hiro and I are just friends!” I pushed his arm away.
“Kyahahahaha! Hiiro and his girlfriend, sitting in a tree~ K-I-S-S-I-N-G—”
“Shut up!” I yelled. “I’m not even a girl!”
“Isn’t sitting in trees dangerous?” Hiiro asked.
“That’s what you’re worried about!?” I cried.
“Everyone be quiet!”