Episode 74 – Valentine’s Day Live ①

It is time for the concert to begin.
The thought of standing still for more than three hours made me feel exhausted, but I had forgotten about that by the time I got here.

The lights were dimmed.
The 10,000 people in the hall fell silent for a moment, and then cheered.
I was one of them, of course, and waited for the next one, unable to contain my excitement.

Soon pop music began to play.

“Oh, the first one is [Shanponika!] I see.”

Sawamura has apparently studied the song so much that he can recognize it just by hearing the intro. I guess he’s a fan now.
I took out a penlight from my backpack and set it on yellow, the color of Azusa’s image.

“Let’s go~”

When Azusa called out to the group, spotlights lit up the stage, and there stood the five-member idol group, each in a different pose.
Each one of them was already smiling and moving happily. The movements propagated from the two at the end to the center, and finally, Azusa struck a decisive pose.

“””!!””””

In an instant, the voltage of the venue turned to the max.
It was a spectacular sight to see the audience, who had been waiting in idleness until a few minutes ago, respond to the songs in unison.

As it was, Sawamura and I, and all of us, were filled with euphoria as they finished singing one song on the stage

“We are a five-member idol group, Shanponika!“

From there, the leader of the “Shanponika!” group MC’d as they prepared for the next song.
Incidentally, surprisingly, the leader of “Shanponika!” is not Azusa, the most popular and the center of the group.
I once asked why, and was told with a hearty “I’m not cut out to be a leader!”. No, that’s not something to brag about.

When I recalled such an old exchange, I also remembered that Azusa had been the victim of a stalker at the same time.
The fact that six months have passed since then and she is now happily and joyfully dancing on stage may be a miracle considering the incident.

“Azusa, you dropped the fluffy thing on the end of the microphone on the way out!”
“What? How do you know?”
“Because I picked it up!”
“Well, give it back to me!”
“You should thank me!”

Azusa was being teased on stage.
She seemed to be laughing from the bottom of her heart, and even the entire venue was filled with laughter.

“Well, that was a great song, wasn’t it? ……”
“Are you crying!”

Wasn’t that where I was supposed to cry, flow-wise? I mean, how much lingering feeling do you get from that?
By the way, I wrote that song as a solo song for Azusa, and they sang it in “Shanponka!” So I am a little embarrassed when I am praised for it, even if it was unintentional.

By the way, I had announced on the radio with Mirei that I had changed my composer name from Kazashiro Rei to Nagishiro Rin, but this was not widely known, and even the well-informed Sawamura did not know about it.
As expected, the fact that a composer’s name has changed does not seem to matter to the public at large.

As it is, few people are likely to associate it with Kazashiro Rei when it is composed in Nagishiro Rin.

Well, that being that

“Then let’s go for the second song!”

The second song following the energetic shouts.

When the song started to play, each member moved from the back stage to the front of the audience.
The distance between the audience and Azusa and the other members of the band naturally became closer, and I could feel the voltage rising on my side of the stage.

“Azusa-dono!!!”

Then, by coincidence, Azusa came in front of us who were near the center of the stage.
The distance between us and her was very close. I could almost reach her if I stretched out two or three hands. I didn’t have that many hands.

Up close, Azusa completely hid her usual pomposity and charmed us with her overflowing aura, freshness, and cute voice.
I have seen her on stage once or twice, but this was my first time to see her this close up.
So, once again, I am reminded of that talent of hers more than before.

“Woww!!! Azusa—!!”

I don’t think my voice will reach her, but I’ll support her nonetheless.
I was a little embarrassed …… to see Sawamura next to me, but before I knew it, the guy next to me had a penlight in one hand and a special fan in the other, and he was more enthusiastic than I was.
I guess this guy will continue to be addicted to idols and increase his spending. In a manner of speaking, he will pay tribute.

Well, I’m saying that because I’m already bonded to this heat, and I was feeling the same way.

Then her eyes met mine for a moment.
She may have been looking behind me, but she assumed that her eyes met mine.

And there, Azusa waved her hand in my direction.
Yes, indeed, can I assume that she waved this toward me?

“Azusaaaaa!!!”
“Azusa dono!!!!”

And there was another guy next to me who thought the same thing.
Oh, I knew I was mistaken…we were.

Azusa smiles and goes off in the other direction again.
I was shouting once more, feeling somewhat sorry for her even though I should have seen her all the time.

I lied I screamed at least 10 times.

“That was definitely directed at me, that it was!”
“What? it was me”

After the “Shanponka!” stage was over, Sawamura and I had a friendly fight.
As if we were competing for ownership of the home run ball, we are fighting over the memories of our live performances.

“Phew…..This is so cool huh, Live”
“Yes it is”

They played about five songs in about 40 minutes, but it was not enough.
The stage of “Shanponika!” stage was so attractive that I was absorbed in the performance.

“I wonder who’s next.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to it, that I am.”

Even though the artists had been announced, there was no information about the set list.
As one might expect, someone like Mia, who stands out from the rest of the lineup, will be brought in last, but I have no complaints about any of the members coming this time, and on the contrary, I’m really looking forward to the show.

Then Kotoha, Shizuku san, and Mirei, in that order, continued the live performance.

Kotoha is an actress and sang in a way that blended in with the world of the song.
Shizuku sang prettily, using her natural voice and volume.
Mirei played the guitar in front of 10,000 people, which was also a great success.

I’ve been to Kotoha and Mirei’s live performances a few times, so I knew about it, but after all, I was forced to reconfirm that it was amazing. The song was as good as I thought it would be. It was the first time for me to see Shizuku san perform live, but she sang so well that I thought CD recordings were coming out of her throat.

And yet, all three of them know how to enliven the audience, so they never get bored, and in fact, the audience gets more and more absorbed in the show.
I think that many people come to the concert today because they are not looking for a specific genre of artists, but I think that this concert will probably turn them into fans.

It was so complete that I already thought this concert was a success overall.
The members are so awesome that it just keeps getting more and more enjoyable.

And next.

“Harushita san, huh?”

In fact, she was the one I was looking forward to the most.
I had heard her songs, albeit only a little, since she was at the height of her popularity, and I would be able to see Harushita san, who is such a distant presence in my mind, perform live up close.
I couldn’t imagine what kind of live show it would be like, and I doubt that anyone else could either.

It has been about a year since her return, and this is Harushita san’s first live performance in a long time.

“Hello !”

Harushita san, a former idol, is now a legitimate artist. Her main focus is singing rather than dancing.
Even so, her charm must have been cultivated during her idol days, and above all, it is refreshing to see her in a different light from the way we usually see her.

“It’s been a while, I’m Harushita Suzune !”

That’s where the most excitement was here. Apparently, many fans may have come for Harushita san.
Sawamura was crying next to me.

“uuu…..I never thought I would see you again ……!”

You’re crying super hard. Seriously, you’re ruining a good face.
I didn’t know you’ve been a fan since you were in high school. I didn’t know that.

“Um, that’s it. Sorry to keep you waiting so long.”

Harushita san apologizes with a humble bow, and the crowd said “That’s not true! I’ve been waiting for you! and “I’ve been waiting for you!”
Hearing this, Harushita san responds a little shyly, but still happily.

“Hehe …… Well, thank you very much. It is because of all of you waiting for me like this that I was able to come back here.”

Her serious gaze sucks my consciousness into hers.
Even though it is a distance from here to the back stage, my attention is focused on her.

“Then there’s one other person who actually inspired me to come back.”

I thought she turned to me and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” It might have been an illusion.
But there was enough weight there to make me think so.

“Anyway, I never thought I’d be on stage again.”

In the stillness of the room, her words melted into the audience’s hearts comfortably and poignantly.
It was as if she was preaching to the audience, and everyone listened to her words, took them at face value and accepted them as she said them.

“That’s why I’m so happy to be here. I feel it more than anyone else.”

The crowd cheered as if they were scheduled to be there.
The entire audience’s voices surrounded this venue, and Harushita-san was in the middle of it.

She’s like a speaker. A politician.
The audience here is so fascinated with her that she is almost dangerous, like a leader of fascism.
But it’s not dangerous. They were all trying to bring it to her, with good intentions only.

After tearing up at that, she laughs and says

“I’ve talked a little too long. Let’s get to the song now.”

Then she calls out the song.

“Then I’ll sing. Rendezvous of Sadness.”

Then began a stunning performance.