"Defying the hands of the clock and the boundaries of past and present—we are Zankyou!" Kawarau shouted, his eyes glittering as he moved about on stage. "I can spot some of our old fans in the crowd! I'm really glad—thank you for coming!"

Carin waved to the cheering crowd below, the red light illuminating his face as he spoke. "This is our first live in a while, after we took a break since the start of our school year. I'm really glad to be back here, so please give us your support..."

"Right! We're also collaborating with the new unit Incarnation for today," Kawarau grinned, gesturing for Haruki to take over the MC.

The boy nodded vaguely as the spectators clapped, albeit with less vigour than the cheers Zankyou had received. "Thank you. As Kawarau said, we're Incarnation. We'd love to say more, but we're not the main attractions of today's stage."

"But if you're interested," Evi called, "we're performing in the Summer Music Festival in two weeks' time! If we can dazzle you here, you should come and watch!"

"Mm," Mel agreed—she'd ended up joining them in the end. "I'm sure you'll like our performance."

Seiun raised an eyebrow. "We're happy to assist Zankyou for this live, and we'll be singing one of our original songs at the end of the show. For now, though, please enjoy the performance both our units bring you."

"Right, we'll be performing our first song now," Kawarau laughed. "And with that...let's go!"

And then the music started.

Zankyou had always preferred songs with strong instrumentals to match their vocals and theme. The mixture of traditional instruments with more modern sounds should have been a mess, but somehow, they were able to make it work.

Seiun observed their newest member from the corner of her eye. "Hey, Mel, your movements are way too big. We're supposed to help Zankyou to stand out more, not draw attention."

"It'd be a waste not to take the opportunity, though," the pink-haired girl quipped back. "I mean, look at the audience! I'm sure I'll captivate them all!"

"Yeah, you're not getting the point," her unitmate bit back, tone dry as she moved so that she circled behind Evi. "Seriously, though. We're just like backup dancers. Wait until the end to show off."

"Hey, shut up. You aren't supposed to talk during lives," Haruki whispered, letting a frown flit across his face as he stepped back to join them. "Save the chit-chat for later. Even though our role is minor, we can't let the audience get a bad first impression of us."

Reluctantly, the both of them shut up, and went back to focusing on the dance.

Carin didn't think to chat with his partner—instead, his eyes gazed straight ahead as the audience that cheered for the two of them, and his face broke into a smile as he sung out his lines with a smoothness that was even better than their practices.

Kawarau observed from behind him. While he was good at firing up their fans and creating the lively atmosphere Zankyou was known for, Carin had a gentle aura about him that brought out the traditional side of their unit.

Their fans seemed to know that, and they yelled words of encouragement as the green-haired boy finished up his solo, the flowing sleeves of his clothes adding a final accent to his performance as he stepped back.

Haruki wanted to stay caught up in his juniors' performance, but the chorus was starting and he was forced to look like he was being serious. He resisted a sigh, performing his harmonies as he was supposed to and settling for watching the backs of the main performers.

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when Kawarau finished with the final note of their last song—that was the final one on their setlist, and now they were going to hand the stage over to them.

"Thank you, everyone!" Kawarau waved as hard as his arms would allow him to. "Please enjoy Incarnation's performance too!"

He switched off his mic before letting out a loud breath, and gestured for Carin to follow him backstage.

"We never properly introduced ourselves, did we?" Haruki called, and the crowd let out a few hesitant cheers. "We're a flower that blooms despite the darkness—no matter what comes our way, we'll continue to flourish! Please listen to our song!"

He could see Evi bounce on her feet as she got ready, and Seiun clench and unclench her fingers as the first few notes of the piano played. Mel wore a smirk on her face, and she looked over the audience with her most confident expression.

It had been a year since he'd been on the stage.

And as the first beat of the drum fell, he began to sing.

—

"Great job on your live!" Jhorna grinned, flashing her fellow club member a thumbs-up as he sat down. "I wasn't free to see it and only reached there in time to see the last song, but I saw an official recording and you looked great!"

Carin smiled. "Thank you. We're glad it turned out well—where's Seiun, by the way?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," the girl sighed. "Well, club meetings aren't mandatory, so it's not like she's doing anything against the rules. Incarnation's first live is coming up, so maybe she went back early to practice for it or something."

"Alright, then," he hummed, taking out his sketchbook and art supplies as telltale sparks of magic flew around his pencil. "Are you going to see her live?"

"I don't know," Jhorna laughed, turning back to her own drawing. "It depends if I have time on the day, but it seems like quite a large-scale event. I'm definitely interested in going."

Carin nodded as he continued working on his sketch of a dinosaur. "Zankyou's still at the top of Tengoku, and our fans left a lot of positive reviews for our show. It seems like we've gotten off to a good start this year."

"Well, you two have worked hard ever since you were first years, so you deserve it." Jhorna smiled as she drew. "Don't think that Masquerade's going to let you take first place all the way in the Dream Festival, though. We've been working hard."

"I'm sure you have," the Zankyou member nodded. "After all, you're the most reliable second-year in the idol division."

"Aw, thanks." She bobbed up and down in her seat. "Well, if you put me in the same class as Evi and Seiun, I suppose it's not too far-fetched...anyway, want to go grab a bite after this? I could go for some fast food and there's a bakery I want to check out nearby."

Carin shrugged. "We don't have practice, so it's fine by me. I'm glad you asked, because I wouldn't have known what to do with my time otherwise."

"You're very go-with-the-flow, aren't you?" Jhorna laughed, amused at the boy's disposition. "But thanks."

—

Sou paused as he slid the door open to the school's shooting gallery.

He'd agreed to hang out with Hayato since the both of them didn't have anything on besides club practice, and the swimming club had ended already. He'd assumed Hayato would have finished by the time he took a shower, but it seemed like he was wrong.

The shorter boy didn't look up from the sound until he'd managed to fire a shot that landed somewhere near the bullseye, and he grinned once he noticed his friend loitering uselessly around the entrance.

"Hey, Sou!" he waved, lowering his rifle and gesturing for the boy to take a seat at the back. "I'm almost done—just give let me finish my last shot and then I'm done for the day!"

Hayato then hoisted the gun back into his arms, aiming for the target with a tenacity that Sou hardly saw him display in class, and he looked almost cool for a moment until he hit the bullseye and he jumped into the air in joy.

"Did you see that?" Hayato shouted over the noise, grinning from ear to ear as he set down his gun. "I've been trying for the entire session!"

"Yes, good job," Sou replied, hoping it didn't sound too unenthusiastic. Hayato didn't seem to mind—he ran over to where his friend was sitting, moving to grab his half-open bag and slinging it over his shoulders. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah! Sorry to keep you waiting!" the redhead replied, pushing the door open and waiting for his classmate to walk out before doing the same himself. "Do you have anywhere in particular you want to go?"

He shrugged in response. "Not really, but we could get something to eat and walk around the mall and window shop."

"Sounds good to me," Hayato hummed. "Let's go, then! What are you waiting for?"

He's as energetic as ever, Sou thought to himself, but he smiled anyway and followed his friend's lead.

—

"One earl grey milk tea with pearls, please. Uh, as for the sugar level—thirty percent?"

She shoved her phone in her bag while the employee was busy preparing her order, freeing her hands so she could reach out to grab the drink once it was finished.

"Thanks," she said, nodding politely as she gathered the plastic into her hands.

"No problem," the woman behind the counter said, shooting a smile at her before speaking again. "Before you go, were you from the idol group Stellarium? It's just that you look very similar to one of the members in that group and I was a big fan."

Her breath caught for a moment, but she forced herself to return the smile. "Yes, I'm Seiun from Stellarium. Thank you for having supported us then."

"It's no problem at all." Honestly, her only thought was aren't I holding up the line, but she let it slide. "You're in that new unit now, aren't you? I'll come and cheer for you at your live if I can."

"Thank you. We really appreciate it." The conversation was getting stale now, and she managed to pry herself from the employee before disappearing into the crowd.

There was just a week left until Incarnation's first live. Her singing was the same as usual—she hadn't practiced her lines as much as she wanted to, but it was still easily comparable to the rest of the members. It was the dancing and performance she was more worried about.

She would give them a performance that was up to their expectations. She knew Evi wouldn't mind either way, but the more she practiced, the more she felt the need to do even better.

After all, she was the only one with a half-baked interest in the group. Evi and Mel got along well; they caught interest easily and had personalities that let them attach themselves to the unit at once, and Haruki had been more than relentless in the practices they had.

Even if that was how it was, she couldn't give them a lacklustre performance. It was the least she could do to not pull her unit down.

She took a frustrated sip of her tea. She'd told herself that she would go home early to refine her vocals and practice a little on the piano, but she didn't feel like doing it now that she was already in the mall.

"...that looks interesting. Wanna go?"

A group of chatting teenagers pulled her out of her thoughts, and she glanced up. The first thing she saw was the poster they'd been crowding around—Evi had dragged them all to put them up around the mall yesterday, so it wasn't like she didn't know what it was."

"Ooh, what's this? An idol performance?" One of the girls tilted her head—her back was turned—and there was something familiar about her that she couldn't put her finger on. "They look pretty good for high school students. Sure, I don't mind."

"It's on, then." The girl then turned around to talk to one of her other friends, and she stiffened up, almost dropping her tea and scrambling to regain her grip on the plastic bag.

"Hey. You know..." She trailed off before speaking again. "That was Seiun on the poster, wasn't it? I didn't know she went to Tengoku."

One of the boys shrugged. "I don't know about her, but she was in your middle school class or something, right?"

"Yeah, something like that...it's kinda complicated."

Seiun walked away before she could hear anything else.

Shit.

--

owo what's this

yes, this is an upcoming incarnation arc!!!! it's pretty chunky (at least the planning part on google docs is), big thanks for peeno (shithead asshole) and evi (angel whom i must protecc) for helping out ~ lot's of suffering™ incoming

adding on to this, the next cards after RPG Evi/Carin will be "Haruki/Seiun: [ Music Festival of Tears - 5* and Mel/Evi 4* ]

wow yes this actually has a story

i realised i forgot to post the poll results soooo here they are. the polls are getting less and less votes so tbh i might pause them if i'm getting too little responses to form a concrete ranking.

chapter 10 poll:

1. Seiun (4 votes) (bad taste)

2. Carin/Trevor (2 votes)

3. everyone else had 1 vote so guess what! we're all winners

unit poll:

1. Zankyou (5 votes) - will retain 1st place in standing until next poll

2. Telescope (3 votes) - will obtain 2nd place in standing until next poll

3. Incarnation/Masquerade (1 vote) - will obtain 3rd place in standing until next poll

anyways this chapter's poll will be an all character poll (now that mel's added) before we get into the gritty stuff over the next few chapters that is incca ~ link in inline comment here

you can vote for more than 1 characters

byee