idolpro | MAN☆EATER'S IDEAL WORLD ★ SESSION 2

When you close your eyes, bone-deep fatigue crashes over you like a wave—almost like it was just waiting to catch up to you the minute you stopped moving.

Within the darkness, you can just barely hear the echoes of distant voices, too faint to identify . . .

"Jealous of his normalcy? Maybe just a little."

"Man Eater is so scary! Man Eater is a killer! It's all very alarming but. . .that's all there is, isn't it?

Neeheehee, brutish as you may be, someone like you will never be more than that. You'll kill, and you'll die. Over and over, until it's permanent some day."

"And you're the same... Hitoshiki! The truth is you're just a serial killer who's only good for killing—so why are you going to school like some normal kid?! Leading a dual life when you don't even have a dual personality—it's not fair! Why only you?! It's not fair!"

"It's better not to fight, sometimes. I feel kind of sorry for you..."

"So what it comes down to is this. Would you rather stay what you are, or be happy?"

Gradually, those voices blend into the hum of a bustling crowd... naturally enough to make you wonder if perhaps you were just hearing things, after all.

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[ let's just ignore that message, first of all

and walk a little closer to the boys, what's all this about ]

Upon closer inspection, at least one of the boys is a familiar face. That's definitely Man☆Eater, only dressed in a gakuran and with his long hair pulled up into a ponytail. The other is an extremely short boy with a giant face tattoo and unkempt black hair, who you may or may not recognize.

The booth they're hanging out next to is labeled "RUSSIAN ROULETTE TAKOYAKI." Face tattoo boy is doubled over in agony, while Man☆Eater seems to be having a good laugh at his expense.

"Gyahahaha! Oh, c'mooon, it can't be that bad. Here, let me have a taste." Man☆Eater suddenly dips and kisses Face Tattoo, then pulls back after a few entirely-too-long moments, licking his lips. "Mmm... See? I knew you were just being a baby."

"DROP DEAD!"

... and they keep going on in that vein, but you could probably interrupt if you wanted.

Um, Eater -

[ a pause, thoughtful, ]

Is that person your friend...?

Perhaps surprisingly, there is not a hint of hesitation or insincerity as he answers, "'Course, we're best buddies. Right, Tosshi?"

Hitoshiki grunts, but does not actually bother to deny that.

"But it's not like that's news, right?" Man☆Eater adds.

Oh, um -

It's nice to meet you! I'm his -

[ no, more accurately, ]

One of his younger sisters... Other than flirting, what are you doing right now?

Hitoshiki gives her a blank look. "I know who you are, Aradia. C'mon, my face can't be that forgettable. Just look at it! ... Aah, what a riot."

Man☆Eater just laughs at his expense, then says, "I'm busy crushing this guy in every possible arena."

Oh -

[ ohhhh she gets it now. ]

It's still a little early - I'm sorry ... Um -

Doodle and I are going to go look at the rest of the festival, so we can talk more later on ... be nice to Tosshi, okay?

"I'll consider it as long as Doodle's nice to my little sister! Gyahaha. Well, have fun."

He's always nice to me, isn't he...?

[ well

turning on her heel to go back over to doodle ]

[sidling up to her and taking her hand]

[ smiles just a bit, giving his hand a quick squeeze ]

... Hi ...

Wanna look around this place together?

Okay. There's definitely ...

... Other than that, there's definitely another way for us to leave, so we should try and investigate first, right?

Yeah. Of course.

[ lets her gaze drift over to some of the stalls, still holding onto his hand ]

. . . What do you think?

[shrug]

You know I'm more than fine with murder as a first resort.

. . . Mm.

[ ... ]

Well, for now, we should look at the rest of the festival, right?

Yeah. Let's see what we can find.

[ after talking to eater and hitoshiki a bit longer she's coming on back ]

Do you want to go into the school, or should we look at these -

[ ... ]

Um, they're called "stalls," aren't they...?