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log"I am Anastasia. How is everyone today?"
"Good," answers Zenitsu in front his computer screen. "Now that I'm no longer at a hospital where all those nurses poked me with needles, I feel great. I didn't even scar from getting struck by lightning."
He doesn't have to lift his head to know that Jigoro is watching him from his seat with an arched eyebrow. It's not like Zenitsu has anyone with whom to voice chat. But it doesn't matter how Jigoro looks at him. His thoughts get the better of him as he focuses on the broadcast.
Come to think of it, why is he so infatuated with Love Laika's Anastasia? Minami's the one who shares a name with his bird—and she's quite lovely, no doubt about that—but she lacks the ethereal allure that Anastasia's very presence emits. Before Love Laika, Zenitsu had moderate interest in idols after his initial phase of unchecked adulation. Now he's trending back to old habits. It's weird.
The first time around had done him no good, leaving him instead with more pronounced feelings of isolation and loneliness. If he knows what's good for him, he'll run the other way while the path back to his old life is still within sight. Yet a piercing pain radiates from his chest whenever he considers abandoning this sudden infatuation for an idol whose events have given him nothing but pain from a headache to a freak accident delivered by mother nature.
At least now he can spin jokes about how the lightning cracked his face, as opposed to his being born with such an unsightly deformity. Touching his cheeks isn't a pleasant feeling. He can't imagine how it feels to look at them.
That's right. No matter what he thinks, he feels in his heart that he cannot abandon Anastasia. She may not even realize that he exists, but her existence is not something he can ignore. She's done nothing wrong: In fact, all of her public appearances have been totally endearing, much like witnessing an angel unfurling her wings.
Those wings will unfurl in full at the Autumn Festival, where Anastasia will debut as a solo idol. When he first heard the news that Love Laika wouldn't be showing at the event, Zenitsu was beside himself. He'd already bought his ticket in spite of his undying curse with concerts! Fortunately, it's been confirmed since that both Minami and Anastasia would be performing.
"It's indoors," Zenitsu said to Jigoro after his purchase, "so I won't get injured by nature again."
The Autumn Festival is a veritable giant among events of its kind; however, he's only attending to see Anastasia. He doesn't go to every performance of hers, because that would be financially impossible with the limited income of a full-time student and part-time worker. But the Autumn Festival will be a momentous occasion where she goes solo and he's decided that he wouldn't miss it for the world.
"Why are you so interested in seeing those girls? Just a couple of years ago, you didn't want to go to any of their events," says Jigoro.
Zenitsu shrugs and rattles off a long-winded answer that amounts to a bunch of nonsense. He doesn't know the answer, either. He just has a feeling.
With his earplugs in tow and a fresh series of bandages applied to his face, he stands far in the back. The other idols are great, but his grip tightens around the glow sticks given to him upon entry once Anastasia walks onto the stage. He swallows as his heart beats wildly.
A piano heralds the start of Anastasia's performance. She sings and moves to the sound of "Nebula Sky," and all else fades to the background for Zenitsu, who holds the glow sticks he meant to wave in her honor limply at his sides.
Wait, he thinks, isn't this song kind of familiar? That's impossible. This is the first time he's heard Anastasia's "Nebula Sky." It has to be.
A dull clatter catches in his ears as his right hand twitches.
No matter how lonely I am, I'll cast away this deep loneliness.
He remembers. That chord—he's played it countless times in the living room, where even Jigoro wasn't allowed to sit and listen.
Certainly, it's not unheard of for musicians to produce similar music. But isn't this too similar? He's no musical genius—he's completely self-taught, for crying out loud—so there's no explanation as to how he could've come up with the same chord as a professional composer. Again, that's just impossible.
He never forgets a sound he's heard before. It's more likely that an old demo of "Nebula Sky" leaked onto the internet years ago and he came across it. The song must have been polished to suit Anya before she pursued the ambitious goal of going solo.
He starts with a blink. Who's Anya?
"красивая."
Anastasia sounds winded, yet pleased. He thought he'd feel the same way. Instead, confusion fumigates his heart as a sharp pain pierces it. Even so, the smile on her face that's being projected onto the large screen behind her is one of the most beautiful sights he's seen in his entire life.
It's only after he leaves the Autumn Festival that he realizes he dropped his glow sticks during Anastasia's performance. That's not all, though: It feels as if he's left more than those obnoxious sticks behind that day.
"Good," answers Zenitsu in front his computer screen. "Now that I'm no longer at a hospital where all those nurses poked me with needles, I feel great. I didn't even scar from getting struck by lightning."
He doesn't have to lift his head to know that Jigoro is watching him from his seat with an arched eyebrow. It's not like Zenitsu has anyone with whom to voice chat. But it doesn't matter how Jigoro looks at him. His thoughts get the better of him as he focuses on the broadcast.
Come to think of it, why is he so infatuated with Love Laika's Anastasia? Minami's the one who shares a name with his bird—and she's quite lovely, no doubt about that—but she lacks the ethereal allure that Anastasia's very presence emits. Before Love Laika, Zenitsu had moderate interest in idols after his initial phase of unchecked adulation. Now he's trending back to old habits. It's weird.
The first time around had done him no good, leaving him instead with more pronounced feelings of isolation and loneliness. If he knows what's good for him, he'll run the other way while the path back to his old life is still within sight. Yet a piercing pain radiates from his chest whenever he considers abandoning this sudden infatuation for an idol whose events have given him nothing but pain from a headache to a freak accident delivered by mother nature.
At least now he can spin jokes about how the lightning cracked his face, as opposed to his being born with such an unsightly deformity. Touching his cheeks isn't a pleasant feeling. He can't imagine how it feels to look at them.
That's right. No matter what he thinks, he feels in his heart that he cannot abandon Anastasia. She may not even realize that he exists, but her existence is not something he can ignore. She's done nothing wrong: In fact, all of her public appearances have been totally endearing, much like witnessing an angel unfurling her wings.
Those wings will unfurl in full at the Autumn Festival, where Anastasia will debut as a solo idol. When he first heard the news that Love Laika wouldn't be showing at the event, Zenitsu was beside himself. He'd already bought his ticket in spite of his undying curse with concerts! Fortunately, it's been confirmed since that both Minami and Anastasia would be performing.
"It's indoors," Zenitsu said to Jigoro after his purchase, "so I won't get injured by nature again."
The Autumn Festival is a veritable giant among events of its kind; however, he's only attending to see Anastasia. He doesn't go to every performance of hers, because that would be financially impossible with the limited income of a full-time student and part-time worker. But the Autumn Festival will be a momentous occasion where she goes solo and he's decided that he wouldn't miss it for the world.
"Why are you so interested in seeing those girls? Just a couple of years ago, you didn't want to go to any of their events," says Jigoro.
Zenitsu shrugs and rattles off a long-winded answer that amounts to a bunch of nonsense. He doesn't know the answer, either. He just has a feeling.
With his earplugs in tow and a fresh series of bandages applied to his face, he stands far in the back. The other idols are great, but his grip tightens around the glow sticks given to him upon entry once Anastasia walks onto the stage. He swallows as his heart beats wildly.
A piano heralds the start of Anastasia's performance. She sings and moves to the sound of "Nebula Sky," and all else fades to the background for Zenitsu, who holds the glow sticks he meant to wave in her honor limply at his sides.
Wait, he thinks, isn't this song kind of familiar? That's impossible. This is the first time he's heard Anastasia's "Nebula Sky." It has to be.
A dull clatter catches in his ears as his right hand twitches.
No matter how lonely I am, I'll cast away this deep loneliness.
He remembers. That chord—he's played it countless times in the living room, where even Jigoro wasn't allowed to sit and listen.
Certainly, it's not unheard of for musicians to produce similar music. But isn't this too similar? He's no musical genius—he's completely self-taught, for crying out loud—so there's no explanation as to how he could've come up with the same chord as a professional composer. Again, that's just impossible.
He never forgets a sound he's heard before. It's more likely that an old demo of "Nebula Sky" leaked onto the internet years ago and he came across it. The song must have been polished to suit Anya before she pursued the ambitious goal of going solo.
He starts with a blink. Who's Anya?
"красивая."
Anastasia sounds winded, yet pleased. He thought he'd feel the same way. Instead, confusion fumigates his heart as a sharp pain pierces it. Even so, the smile on her face that's being projected onto the large screen behind her is one of the most beautiful sights he's seen in his entire life.
It's only after he leaves the Autumn Festival that he realizes he dropped his glow sticks during Anastasia's performance. That's not all, though: It feels as if he's left more than those obnoxious sticks behind that day.