Tabula rasa

Thanks for joining us today!

It’s me, Ev3ns’ smiley cutie! ♪ I hope you have tons of fun today!

Hm? Hold on…

What’s up, Chihiro?

That person in the front is the fake fan who wrote those mean things about Kinyari.

How do you know that?

I found out while I was egosurfing. That penlight they’re holding is the same one I saw on that account. It has to be them.

Kinyari, will you be okay? You don’t have to perform if you can’t.

……

I would like to pour all of my emotions into my singing today.

I have decided to live my life in that way.

Hm…? Oh, okay.

Then let’s get the show started!

(Kinari-kun decided to put his all into his idol work, but…I’m worried about his solo part coming up.)

(He just learned about his developer’s true feelings yesterday. He might still be processing his emotions…)

(…Once again, I am singing at dusk every day. Just as my developer…my father, wished for me to do.)

(I was born, lived with my father, and saw him off… I thought everything was over when he passed, but somehow, I am still singing…)

(Under the evening sun, I feel that I can see the silhouette of my father still listening to my song.)

(No, even if my father is not really here, there are other people who are listening to me.)

♪

(Why am I remembering all of this? The sadness when my father fell ill, the loneliness when he passed… The relief when I found my new master…)

(As I sing, these thoughts keep appearing… Are these my emotions…?)

*gasp*

(Kinari-kun’s singing is different than usual… It’s so moving.)

(This is his true singing voice…)

Kinari-kun’s singing was amazing today! It was crazy!

He was about to make me change my bias…! Maybe I’ll make him my bias-wrecker!

Excuse me…! Azekawa…Kinari.

(Ah! Why’s the fake fan trying to talk to Kinyari?!)

…Yes?

Uh… Your singing today was really, really great. You improved so fast… I was kind of surprised.

…Thank you very much.

Ahh, he’s so beautiful…! I-I’d love to keep supporting you!

Hm…? He ran away.

Kinyari, I heard everything! ♪ He’s, like, totes whipped for you. Nobody can resist our cutie-patootie shortcake. ♪

“Whipped”… Slang term. Meaning: in love, completely devoted.

(HRRMMMM… Ev3ns’ frozen prince never fails! His singing and his fanservice have improved so much! Looks like I won’t need to bring that fake fan to justice after all…)

(Ev3ns, I’ll always be gazing at you longingly from the sidelines…!)

(Huh? Is that Kodama in disguise again?)

We’ll be at your show tomorrow too!

Good luck at your review meeting! See you tomorrow!

Thanks for coming. See you tomorrow!

Kinari, you did very well on your solo part today. Did something change recently?

…I simply sang in a way befitting of myself. However…

I believe that I had…fun.

It seems your records have turned into proper memory, plüss.

I do not understand what you mean…

I’m saying that you view your records with more emotion now. But that’s no important matter. I’m going home.

My raw data transforms into RAM when it is viewed with emotion…?

You were SO good, Kinyari! There was, like, total big love in your singing! ♪

Yeah, you did amazing, Kinari-kun. I’m sure you’ll be able to make plenty of wonderful memories from now on.

…So my RAM is the equivalent to human memories…

Hmhmhmmmm! ♪ Our gig today was so good. Time to egosurf!

You really like doing that, huh? Didn’t you say that idols should avoid egosurfing too much?

I’m used to it, so it’s okay if I do it. I’ll search for your name too, Taotao! Don’t do it yourself!

Yeah, yeah.

Woah, O-M-G! Someone uploaded a fancam of Kinyari’s solo part, and it’s, like, totally popping off!

Seriously? Oh, you’re right. Yeah, he did pretty well today.

Look, look! We have more followers on the Ev3ns accounts too. I’m, like, so happy! Totes happy!!

Woah… I gotta start practicing my singing too.

And Chii wants to get even better at dancing!

…May I enter?

Kinyari?! You never come to visit us. We were just talking about you! Come in, come in!

What’s up? It’s rare to see you visiting our room.

Kinouchi Tao. I came to ask you about my original self.

Huh…? What’s that mean?

Uhh… I actually used to be classmates with Kinari’s original.

What?! For realsies?!

Yeah, we just knew each other through a mutual friend, so I didn’t really hang out with him outside of karaoke… What do you wanna know?

Anything you can recall. It might serve as a hint towards my goal of finding my true self.

Hmm… He was a good singer, like you. Oh, but he didn’t sing in the same style you did today.

…I see.

Also… You remember how I did that card trick in Beppu? He would always ask me to show him that.

Yes, that was an amazing trick. I was very impressed.

Haha, it’s crazy how you two look the same but act totally different. He was really determined to figure out the trick behind it, so he kept asking me to do it.

I see.

Are you okay, Kinyari? Is it, like, a bad thing for an android to be told that they’re different from their original?

I previously thought that it made me defective, but now, I believe that I am…somewhat happy to hear that.

Oh, okay. That’s good. I’m glad I didn’t say anything bad.

Is there anything else you can recall?

There was one thing he asked me when we were at karaoke. “If you died tomorrow, what would you want to say to the people still living today?”

I feel like there was some kinda deeper meaning to it.

My original was afflicted with an incurable illness, so I assume that is the reason he said that.

That makes sense. Maybe he had something he wanted to say to the people around him before he died.

…Something he wanted to say… I do not have that as of yet.

Thank you for the information, Tao.

Oh, no problem. Are you sure you don’t wanna hear more?

Yes. I think what you said will help me determine what I would like to say to people, as well as how I should live my life.

Please let me know if there is anything else you recall.

Feels like Kinyari got some kinda weight off his chest.

Hmm… Yeah, I hope so.

Bee-tee-dubs, I can’t believe that you were classmates with Kinyari’s original! Small world!

Yeah. I wasn’t really all that close to him though…

But the guy we knew each other through was my best friend.

……

Best friend…

I can’t really see him anymore though.

Anyway, you wanna play duos again today?

……

Chihiro?

I don’t really feel like it. Sorry.

He’s in a bad mood… Was it something I said…?