Rainbow - Revival 15

[rubestie]

Season: Summer

 

Location: Rooftop

 

Characters: Hokuto, Jin, Chiaki, Tori

 

 

Hokuto: Moving on. Who are the other members of that temporary unit we will be competing against?

 

Jin: Uuuhm, I’ll just go in order. The third-year participant is Mikejima from MaM and the second-year is Kagehira from Valkyrie.

 

The first-year is that one from Switch… Harukawa, was it? Since he’s still a new student I can’t remember his face just from reading his name.

 

Tori: Ah, he’s in my class. He seems like he is somewhat of a problem child, he’s always getting scolded by the teachers.

 

Well, pretty much everyone in my class is like that though~, I’m the only normal person there.

 

Hokuto: Fufu. Aside from Valkyrie, I haven’t heard much about the other two units mentioned, though.

 

Switch, was it? Wasn’t that unit created by Sakasaku in my class?

 

Chiaki: Hm. I know MaM, or rather, Mikejima-san, personally, so I’m very familiar with him.

 

He’s a fiercely talented person, probably comparable to the likes of the Five Eccentrics or Tenshouin. 

 

Tori: Huh? The president is far and beyond the most talented top idol though!?

 

…Wait, what? What are the “Five Eccentrics”? Isn’t it the “Three Eccentrics”? 

 

Hokuto: Ah… In the past, there were five of them, and they were called the “Five Eccentrics”. 

 

Tori: Is that so? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before~?

 

So there were two more people who acted like that long-hair in my unit, woah…?

 

Hokuto: Yes. Sakasaki, whom I just mentioned, was one of them.

 

If that kid named Harukawa is in the same unit as him, then Harukawa might be something of a disciple of the Five Eccentrics. 

 

And needless to say, Kagehira is still active in the unit that used to stand at the very top of Yumenosaki Academy, Valkyrie. He’s been under the care of the last of the Five Eccentrics, Itsuki Shu.

 

Chiaki: Hm. Itsuki rarely shows up to school, so I’m actually rather worried about him… But I know he values his friends more than anything, and he’s an outstanding leader.

 

I don’t know much about Kagehira’s abilities, or more like, even though I’ve seen Valkyrie onstage many times, he never left a huge impression on me…

 

But he’s probably Itsuki’s favorite, and will have been taught well. We should be careful. 

 

Hokuto: I see. Their lineup seems random at first, but each one of them is surrounded by this mysterious and powerful aura.

 

What could Kunugi-sensei be planning to do with such a group of people?

 

Jin: You tell me… Nowadays that guy acts like he’s some smartass megane character, but back in the day he was the type to let his emotions get the best of him, and often let himself get swept by the atmosphere of the situation.

 

This might actually just be him acting on a whim.

 

Tori: Hmph. Well, no matter what our enemies are plotting, we just need to defeat them through sheer strength.

 

Chiaki: Oh, how reliable, Himemiya! You’re so cool to be able to stay completely calm even when faced with a strong enemy.

 

Tori: Fu, fufun… Well, we probably shouldn’t let our guard down, though.

 

I never want to lose to someone after underestimating them again, so maybe we should try and find out as much as possible about these people.

 

Hokuto: …Ah, I nearly forgot to ask, but what did those guys name their unit?

 

I don’t want to keep referring to them as “those guys”, so I’d like to know their name.

 

Jin: Right. Uhm… Thing is, I don’t actually know how to read this. I wrote it down just in case, but this is written in English, right? What does it say?

 

Hokuto: Let me see. Uuhm, so it’s written as “Ba-Barrier”. That really is difficult to read, wouldn’t it be ba…baria?

 

Tori: Bavarois? What an unexpectedly cute name.

 

Hokuto: … ♪ (Looking at Tori and nodding with satisfaction.)

 

Chiaki: Hm. I don’t think it’s bavarois, it should be barbari… barbarian?

 

Hokuto: As in savages? What a scary name, there’s nothing even slightly idol-like about it.

 

Chiaki: Ah, the transfer student is saying it should be read as “Ba-barrier~”!

 

Tori: What kind of word is that? Did they make it up…? We’ve said it out loud so many times I feel like it’s lost all its meaning.

 

Compared to the simplicity of “Rain-bows”, this name might be more fashionable, though. 

 

Hokuto: For now, let’s go with the transfer student’s reading of the word… So “Ba-Barrier” is the name of our enemies.

 

Chiaki: Fufu. You look happy, Hidaka. Having enemies around makes things more exciting! I get how you feel, how boyish ♪

 

Hokuto: Right. People have been telling me this often, so I’ve come to realize I might be more aggressive than I would’ve thought.

 

Tori: I’d say you’re something like a mad dog who bites at anyone who comes close.

 

…More importantly, I don’t know anything at all about Kunugi-sensei. What was he like when he was active as an idol?

 

Since he’s the leader, he will probably be the one to decide on things like the contents of their performance. We might be able to think of counter-measures if we consider Kunugi-sensei’s preferences and skills.

 

Jin: Yup. To explain that, I’ll need to go over a quick idol history lesson with you.

 

Hokuto: Why. Lunch break is almost over, we don’t have the time to stay here and listen to you talk forever.

 

Jin: Now, now, just listen up. It’s kinda hard to explain what kind of idol Kunugi-sensei was.

 

His career was kinda mediocre, and thanks to that students often end up underestimating him, which is honestly a shame.

 

Since this is what Project-Saga is all about, it wouldn’t be bad for you guys to learn a bit about idol history while we’re at it.

 

We old folks love to tell tales of the past, so please hear me out… I’ll begin a classic Sagami-sensei lecure ♪

 

Chiaki: Thank you for letting me attend! Wow, I’m so happy! To think we’re able to hear the testimony of a living witness of history…✰

 

Hokuto: No thank you, I’m not interested. The past should stay in the past, and we should care more about the present.

 

Tori: Yup, the most important thing is the future after all.

 

Jin: Both the present and the future are built upon that past, though. And if there really are someone conspiring behind the scenes this time…

 

The motivations behind those schemes could be found in the past. If not, then there would be no reason to create a conspiracy around a project bringing back past idols. 

 

I’m old and my eyes have gotten cloudy, so I don’t really understand what we’ve gotten ourselves mixed up in.

 

You guys have no biases or prior knowledge, your perspectives are much more fresh than mine. If I teach you what I know, you might be able to notice something I can’t.

 

Within the entertainment industry, any dark parts of the past tend to be erased, so with time they fade away and are forgotten…

 

Thinking about that makes me feel bad for my own seniors, so I want to let their stories live on as much as possible.

 

Chiaki: I get it! Kamen Rider also regularly brings back the past to remember its history!

 

Jin: Why do you keep making every conversation about tokusatsu shows… Well, then, allow me to briefly explain some idol industry history to you all.

 

In the beginning, there was a single idol. He was something like a God, who created everything upon which the current idol industry was built.

 

For example, he took the year-end festival which up until then had centered around normal celebrities and musicians, where idols were simply treated as an afterthought…

 

He miraculously transformed it into an event completely by idols and for idols. 

 

That is how the event we know as “SS” started, and it is still being held even now.

 

That person similarly caused countless other small and large revolutions. 

 

At first he was seen as a regular musician, but then he went on to make a name for idols, a field which up until then had been fragile.

 

Even before that, there existed people who named themselves idols and were called idols by others….

 

But that person was the one who made idols into something unique, into an existence different from anything else.

 

Once that person appeared and started doing activities, the very meaning of the word “idol” changed drastically.

 

Really, absolutely everything changed. History was changed, and the world was turned upside down at the hands of a single person.

 

Compared to the legacy left behind by that person, my own accomplishments are mere garbage.

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