Hotaru

Haa... Haa...

Hotaru

(Huh?)

Hotaru

(In the end, I... made it all the way to the finish...)

Hotaru

Ah...!

Nagi

Mahoro...!

Natsume

Hey—! Oh, come on!

Houka

That was millsage. Thank you very much.

Nagi

Wait, hey, wait! ...Calm down, Mahoro!

Mahoro

I am calm.

Mahoro

Completely calm.

Mahoro

So... please don't look at me with those pitying eyes.

Nagi

...! Mahoro—

Natsume

That's enough. If you're going to fight, do it back in the dressing room. We've got a mountain of things to reflect on.

Nagi

Could you please stay out of this? Right now I'm—

Mahoro

Natsume-chan. I think I understand things perfectly well.

Mahoro

The crowd was incredibly fired up. The only one who couldn't deliver... the only one who needs to reflect is me.

Mahoro

Sorry for causing so much trouble.

Natsume

What?

Natsume

Who gave you permission to wallow in self-pity like some tragic heroine?

Natsume

Anyone can make a mistake during a live show. It just happened to be you this time.

Natsume

I don't mean to blame you for—

Mahoro

I said I get it!!

Natsume

...!?

Mahoro

All of it, all of it—I get it perfectly well!

Mahoro

That none of you blame me! That Hotaru-chan hasn't done a single thing wrong!

Mahoro

I get it! I do get it!

Mahoro

That I don't have the skill! That I have no talent!! That I could never possibly take Kanata's place!

Mahoro

I'm the one—!! Who knows that best of anyone...!!

Nagi

...!

Natsume

Like I said! That's not what this is—

Hotaru

Um... I...! I'm the one who...

Natsume

You're not to blame either. You did exactly what you had to do.

Houka

That's right. Hotaru-san, you saved this live until the very end.

Houka

There's no need for you to apologize—

Nagi

You're the one, Houka.

Houka

Excuse me?

Nagi

The one who should be apologizing is you, Houka.

Nagi

You're the one who suggested bringing Hotaru into the band, and you're the one who pushed for her to sing, aren't you...!

Nagi

Were you scheming for it to turn out like this from the very beginning!? Otherwise, you'd never care this much about the band—

Natsume

Nagi!

Nagi

...!

Houka

*Sigh*...

Houka

—And what if I was?

Hotaru

Huh?

Houka

It's true that I've been acting according to my own objectives.

Houka

But as a result, hasn't millsage been revitalized up to this point?

Houka

Besides... it's not as if everything went exactly as planned. Even I couldn't have predicted what happened today.

Houka

I swear to you, I have no intention of hurting anyone.

Nagi

That's not what this is about...!

Houka

You want to say that scheming is evil, don't you? Well then, Nagi-san, what about you?

Nagi

...!

Houka

The moment you agreed to the idea of having Hotaru-san sing too, you must have understood it meant reducing Mahoro-san's singing parts.

Houka

Which means you, yourself, are what one would call an accomplice.

Nagi

...!

Natsume

I said that's enough! Both of you, be quiet!

Nagi・Houka

...

Natsume

Hey, what are you two just standing there for! We're going after her!

Houka

That's not really my role, is it?

Houka

Since I already seem to be the bad guy here.

Nagi

You are the worst... I... I knew it all along...!

Nagi

And I told myself it was for Mahoro's sake...!

Natsume

Aaarrgh...! You're all just a noisy mess!

Natsume

Fine, I'm going alone! You two handle the audience! You can at least manage that much!!

Hotaru

Mahoro-san! Please wait, Mahoro-sa—

Mahoro

Don't come any closer!!

Hotaru

...

Mahoro

If you hadn't done that, the live couldn't have gone on.

Mahoro

I think what happened back there was for the best.

Hotaru

B-but... I... you, Mahoro-san...!

Hotaru

I never meant for any of this...!

Mahoro

...That's right. All of that was for the band's sake, wasn't it?

Mahoro

But hey... did you even notice?

Hotaru

...?

Mahoro

You were smiling, Hotaru-chan.

Mahoro

Right up to the end of the live. Until you finished singing, the whole time.

Mahoro

You were smiling, like you were having so much fun.

Hotaru

...Ah.

Hotaru

(...No...)

Hotaru

(Because I...)

Hotaru

(I wanted to help Mahoro-san.)

Hotaru

(I wanted her to find happiness...)

Hotaru

I... I'm sor—

Mahoro

...

Mahoro

Just leave me alone now.

Hotaru

Ah...

Hotaru

Wait...

Hotaru

Please wait...!

Hotaru

...Uuu...

Hotaru

(I'm such an idiot.)

Hotaru

(A complete idiot.)

Hotaru

(Those rainbow colors... they were the color of my own selfish desires.)

Hotaru

(My desire to simply enjoy music for my own satisfaction...)

Hotaru

(My wish to just stay steeped in it forever...)

Hotaru

(That's why I kept singing.)

Hotaru

(Because that space felt more comfortable than anything else...)

Hotaru

(Fooling myself into thinking I was saving someone...)

Hotaru

(In the end, it was all just about me...)

Hotaru

Uuu... uwaaaaaaaah...!!

Natsume

Hotaru! Finally, I found you...!

Natsume

...And Mahoro?

Natsume

...I see.

Hotaru

Uuu... waaaaaaah...!!