Ev3n if…

I’m back, everyone. I apologize for making you worry. We’re getting back to our lessons today, so make sure to put in the effort.

Welcome back, Nayuuki!

Nayuki-san! I’m so glad you’re doing alright.

We have been practicing on our own, but it will be helpful to have our manager here to give us advice.

Kugurinu isn’t here… Guess I expected that.

*gasp*

Hello, my dears. Good morning.

Kugurinu! It’s been forever! O-M-G, I’m so happy you’re alive!

Nyuszi, you’re as ditzy as ever. I’m quite happy to see you again too.

Sorry for being late.

We’re sorry…!

…Looks like I’m the last one here.

Didn’t you decide to “face Ev3ns”?

Ahaha… You’re right, sorry. Okay, let’s get to practicing!

Raito-san and Kuguri-san are on speaking terms…?!

Maybe they made up? Like we did.

…No discrepancies found in either Raito or Kuguri’s heart rates. I propose that we leave them be.

Ooh, okay! Then let’s get this show on the road! ♪

I have something I’d like to announce… I came up with the concept for our first tour.

For realsies? C’mon, tell us, tell us!

Before I do, I’d like to redefine the meaning of the Ev3ns name.

When I came up with it after we left the island… “We’re even” meant that all of us would work independently from each other.

But there’s only so much you can do on your own. That’s certainly true for myself, knowing how flawed I am.

So I want us to be close and rely on each other…

I want us to be even in the sense that we give and receive equally from each other. Not just within this group, but with our fans too.

I don’t want us to only receive or only give. We should stick with each other and receive support from our fans. That’s the kind of group I want us to be.

I’m here because you are. You’re here because I am.

That’s the ideal relationship I want to build within the group and with our fans… What do you think?

Mhm, I like it! Everyone should get to feel that big love!

So our tour concept is “even and mutual support”, correct?

Right. That’s exactly what I had in mind.

Um… I get that we’re even with our fans, but how would we express that during the tour…?

Hmm… I’d like to avoid holding a concert where the fans are seated at a lower level than us or having a handshake event where we’re separated by a table. I want our fans to be on equal footing with us.

According to my database, it is difficult to tend to every fan individually in such a large audience…

You’re right, but we won’t have to worry about it. I’m sure Nayuki can come up with something!

*sigh* Working me to the bone on my first day back, I see. I’ll figure something out.

I used to be the COO of mahorova, after all. I can handle this much.

I knew we could count on you!

(Nayuki-kun always ends up answering to Raito-san’s whims.)

(But he looks optimistic about it. Everyone’s in good spirits…)

(I’m not sure how Kuguri-san and Raito-san cleared the air between them, but I’m glad they’re both still here.)

(I feel like something amazing is about to happen!)

(Phew… Things have been crazy lately…)

(These past few days, Ev3ns wrote lyrics for their new song, found some tour participants, and uploaded an apology video… Lots of people are talking about them now.)

(Raito-san announced that he was staying and apologized along with the rest of the members. They might get some fans back, but they’ll definitely get a lot of new haters too…)

(But I guess Ev3ns is known for being open with everything, even the ugly parts of themselves.)

(This incident did get their name out there, after all…!)

Everyone’s been working hard at their lessons to show the world a brand new Ev3ns for their tour…!

Good evening, Chief. Thanks for always working so hard. I got something for you.

Ah, Raito-san! Thank you so much! Wow, is this a yakiniku bento from THE Jajaen?¹ I-It looks so fancy…

I’m sorry that it’s not ramen. I bought one for myself too, so we can eat together.

Our tour’s starting next week. All the prep work is going smoothly… I’m looking forward to meeting all of our fans.

I’m excited too. I hope everything goes well!

…There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.

Hm?

It’s about my death prophecy… Do you remember how I said that the other members would forget about it after I revealed it to them?

Ah…! Y-Yes, I did.

I think…I’ve changed my mind since then. Especially regarding Chihiro, Tao, and Kinari. I’m not too sure about Kuguri though.

If I were them, I’d find it hard to forget about my fellow member’s future death… They’re all too kind to forget.

(…! Raito-san’s making an effort to see things from their perspective. He’s usually so distant from others…)

On top of that… You told me that I might be hoping for people to forget about my death, right?

Ah, yes. I might’ve said too much…

Not at all. I had that thought as well. Maybe you were right. Maybe that isn’t so out of the question…

…I think I explained my thoughts on the mayfly to you. In an old report, I said that I would die without knowing of love.

I remember that.

That thought ate away at me. It was a worry that I couldn’t wipe away. A type of despair that always arose, no matter how much I tried to smile through it…

It was my greatest weakness, and I tried to pretend it didn’t exist. That’s why I exploded when Kuguri started to antagonize me.

……

Haha… I have to give it to him. He found my weakness and shot at it with pinpoint accuracy.

He’s like the jack in a game of euchre. I suppose I quite like what we have between us at the moment.

…If that’s what you think, then I’m happy for you.

Yeah. I won’t be so spiteful towards love anymore. I have my own ways of loving others, and I’m sure to find more as I continue working with Ev3ns.

If all it takes is being kind and considerate, then I can keep doing it forever. I can finally say that I’ll love someone forever.

That’s really great to hear…!

I owe it all to you. Your words really made me feel better.

(I’m sure that he figured it out all on his own, but I’ll accept his gratitude for now.)

I’ve also decided to stop acting like I fully understand and accept my prophecy.

This old habit of mine where I always just move onto the next new thing and abandon my past… I feel like it was a form of revenge.

Revenge…?

I think the reason why I constantly cut people out of my life was because I was…jealous that they’d live longer than me.

But… I also didn’t want them to grieve over my death. Your words made me realize that, and I’m a little glad that they did.

The human heart is a complex thing… I’m not even sure what I’ve been living for up until now.

This despair I felt towards the concepts of death and love… This confusion, this worry… I didn’t want them to swallow me whole…

So before I knew it, I had decided to live my life as a fake Kitakata Raito.

I want to reject my death and start fighting against it.

*gasp*

Nayuki doesn’t want to accept it either… So I want to look for a way to survive. Even if it’s not out there, I’ll fight against my fate until the end.

…Yeah.

I’m ready to accept that I want to live.

…Yeah…!

I won’t think about the end anymore. I want to live while believing in my future.

So I want to continue working with Ev3ns. That’s my greatest goal.

Even if I really do die at 28, I want to remain a member of Ev3ns until the end. That way, I can die knowing love.

Of course, I’ll still do everything I can to survive, but… My one true dream is to die knowing of love.

Raito-san…

…This is still all very unfamiliar to me. Facing people with honesty, loving people… Wanting to live…

Because I want to live, I fear death… Because I want to love, I worry that I can’t. I feel weaker than I ever have before…

But even so, if that’s what the real Kitakata Raito is like, then that’s how I want to live my life.

…Yeah.

I want to live honestly, as honestly as I can. Will you be there to support me?

Of course I will!

…I’m glad we had this talk.

I am too… I’m really happy.

I’d be honored to have you as my companion in life too… Just kidding.

I already am!

Really? Haha…! That’s wonderful to hear!

Now let’s have our dinner before it gets cold!