Male Idol V13c119

Volume 13 Chapter 119 Shirogane Aqua, A Little Early Visit To The Grave

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Edited by: Kanaa-senpai

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 ”Sorry, everyone.”

 ”Don’t worry about it, Toa. Anyway, I’m just glad you’re better now.”

 ”Yeah! I’m so happy to be back!!”

 ”Either way, we needed a break at some point, and if Toa hadn’t collapsed, I might have been the one to fall sick.”

 On the morning of the 4th day of this trip, which started on Sunday, July 16, we reflected on our journey.

 On the first day, we moved from Ishikawa Prefecture to Fukuoka Prefecture and completed our mission.

 On the second day, July 17, Monday, we traveled from Fukuoka to Kagoshima, completed our mission, and then moved to Okinawa via Tanegashima. In Okinawa, we completed a special mission, which gave us some extra funds for our trip.

 On the third day, July 18, Tuesday, we moved from Okinawa to Hokkaido, but since Toa had a fever, we completed the mission and took the day off to rest.

 And today is the 4th day, July 19. It’s the day I throw the first pitch at the pro baseball All-Star game.

 ”Aqua-san, Aqua-san.”

 ”Yeah?”

 The producer from Berry Berry waves me over.

 I wonder what’s going on?

 I walk over to the producer by myself.

 ”I think you know, but today is the first pitch.”

 ”Yeah.”

 The game starts at 6:30 PM, but there’s a home run derby before that starting at 5:30 PM.

 That means I need to be at the venue before then.

 If possible, I want to get there at least 30 minutes early, or even an hour.

 Thinking about the travel, I want to hit Aichi Prefecture or a neighboring prefecture on my first dart throw.

 ”What should we do? Should we keep throwing darts until we hit it and cheat?”

 ”No way! The cameras are rolling, and they’re (staff) clearly trying to catch a cheating moment on film!”

 The Berry Berry staff smirks at my words and reaction.

 Phew, they looked serious when they waved me over, so I almost got tricked.

 It’s obvious that the Berry Berry staff wouldn’t cheat like that.

 If they were that half-hearted, they would have canceled the project when Toa got a fever… no, they would have canceled it when Ako-san called.

 The Berry Berry staff wants the real deal.

 No matter what challenges come, idol Shirogane Aqua will definitely overcome them.

 The Berry Berry staff wants to capture that moment, that scene.

 So, I have to show this side of me to all the fans.

 ”Can I borrow a dart? I can do this!”

 I know it myself.

 This is totally my flow as idol Shirogane Aqua.

 In my mind, I can see the dart hitting the dome in Aichi, maybe even in Nagoya.

 Sorry, but from here on, it’s Shirogane Aqua time.

 I received the dart from the staff of Berry Berry and threw it towards Nagoya.

 ”””Shizuoka, here we go!”””

 I stumbled from the force of the throw.

 I tried to look super cool while throwing, and now I feel embarrassed.

 The Berry Berry cameraman comes closer with a smirk on his face.

 Hey! You don’t need to get that close; you can zoom in!

 ”If it’s Shizuoka, it’s next door, so we can still make it!”

 ”Let’s clear the mission and head to Aichi!!”

 ”Let’s go, juniors!!”

 ”E-everyone…!”

 We formed a circle and pumped ourselves up.

 That’s right. We can make it work.

 Luckily, hitting Shizuoka, the neighboring prefecture of Aichi, felt like good luck was on our side.

 We rolled the dice with that momentum.

 ”Yay! 50,000!”

 When Toa rolled a 50,000, the staff looked shocked.

 I knew it. Since it’s Berry Berry staff, they probably made sure that 30,000 or 50,000 wouldn’t come up by putting weights off-center in the dice.

 With me rolling 10,000 and Tenga-senpai and Shintaro getting 30,000, we had plenty of travel funds.

 ”Alright, let’s move!”

 ”Yeah!”

 ”Uh-huh!”

 ”Sure!”

 We headed from New Chitose Airport to Shizuoka Airport.

 When we arrived at the Shizuoka airport, the announcement for Berry Berry had already started, and the fans were making a commotion from a distance.

 ”Kyahhhhh!”

 ”Aqua-samaaa!”

 ”T-Toaaaa!”

 ”Mayushin-kun, do your best!”

 ”TENGA! TENGA! TENGA!”

 Thank you, everyone, for watching Berry Berry!!

 We waved back at the fans with gratitude.

 ”Now, here’s our mission in Shizuoka!”

 I received the board with the mission details from the staff.

 Normally, I would take my time, but I didn’t have any now.

 That’s because the clock had already passed 12 o’clock.

 I wanted to eat lunch, but I needed to complete the mission by 4 PM, or maybe even 3 PM or 2 PM depending on the place.

 I peeled off the sticker on the board.

 [Speaking of Shizuoka, it’s Nee-san. And when you think of Nee-san, you think of Shizuoka. It’s a bit early for Obon, but please visit mom’s grave and offer your prayers for Nee-san, who has been busy and hasn’t been able to go home lately!!]

 Nee-san!? Oh, you mean Kotono!!

 ”By the way, Kotono-oneechan’s family is from Shizuoka, right?”

 ”Yeah! Don’t you know the place, junior?”

 ”Aqua, you know it, right?”

 ”Um…”

 I was pretty sure it wasn’t Shizuoka City.

 Hmm, I didn’t think it was Yaizu or the Izu Peninsula either.

 Oh… I remembered! That’s right, it’s Hamamatsu!!

 ”Let’s go to Hamamatsu Station!!”

 ”OK!”

 We all started running at once.

 Fortunately, we had plenty of funds.

 We decided to take a taxi to get there.

 ”Is this the goal!?”

 ”Not yet!”

 When I responded to a fan who passed by, everyone around me cheered loudly.

 I felt happy as people nearby shouted words of encouragement like, “Do your best!” and “We’re cheering for you!”

 ”I heard there’s a taxi stand outside the entrance.”

 ”Okay! Then this way!”

 As we exited Shizuoka Airport, we unexpectedly ran into someone we knew well.

 ”Oh, Aqua-kun!?”

 Huh? Is that voice…?

 ”Kaede? What are you doing here… wait. Are you filming right now!?”

 ”Um, yeah. We’re live on the news during the day.”

 ”No way!?”

 It’s true… Looking closely, one of the staff was holding a sign that said, [Currently Live].

 I quickly switched gears and waved at the camera.

 ”Hello to everyone in Shizuoka! I’m Shirogane Aqua from BERYL!!”

 As I waved, Toa, Shintaro, and Tenga-senpai also appeared on camera.

 ”Hello to all the fans in Shizuoka! I’m Nekoyama Toa from BERYL!”

 ”Hello, Shizuoka residents. I’m Mayuzumi Shintaro from BERYL. I might be here for a little while, but thank you for having me.”

 ”Everyone in Shizuoka! I’m Tenga Akira from BERYL! Nice to meet you!!”

 ”Hello everyone in Shizuoka! I’m Morikawa Kaede, a national broadcaster contracted with Beryl Entertainment!!”

 One of the staff held up a sign that said, [Announcer Morikawa, you’re in the way].

 Seeing that, Kaede stepped even further forward.

 Haha, Kaede is really funny. Only someone like Kaede or my Kohina-senpai could do something like that in this world.

 ”By the way, Aqua-kun. Isn’t today the opening pitch!?”

 ”Yeah, it is. That’s why I’m in a hurry right now! Wait!? Isn’t Kaede the opponent for today’s opening pitch!?”

 ”Yeah… but since I found out I’m pregnant, I had to get someone else to fill in for me at the last minute. I can’t tell you who it is because I was asked to keep it a secret, but Aqua-kun, please take care of it.”

 Kaede’s pinch hitter… I wonder who it could be?

 Could it be Iria-san since she’s also strong? Or maybe Kohina-senpai… no, she’s not good at sports, so it can’t be her.

 Hmm, I really can’t guess who it is.

 ”Wait, I can’t just stand around like this! I’m going!”

 ”Oh, okay. Good luck! Everyone, please support Aqua-kun too!!”

 We wave at the camera again and call out to the taxi driver who was waiting near the taxi stand.

 ”Aqua-sama!?”

 ”Excuse me. We’re filming, but can 4 of us get in!?”

 ”Of course!!”

 Since the filming crew can’t fit in the taxi, Toa takes the camera from one of the crew members.

 ”Um, at Kotono’s house.”

 ”Aqua… that doesn’t help.”

 ”Oh, I mean Nee-san’s house. Got it.”

 ””Huh!?””

 As I’m filming, I exchange glances with Toa.

 Could it be that this taxi driver has, by chance, taken Kotono home in the past?

 ”Nee-san’s home is a power spot for girls like me who want to be happy, and it’s even featured in the local tourism brochures. See, we just got everyone from BERYL into a taxi, so I really think it works!”

 No way… Kotono’s family home is really like that now!?

 Should I pray at my family’s entrance too…?

 ”Oh! Since we’re here, why don’t you buy a model from Nee-san’s house to take back?”

 ”Huh? Kotono’s family home has models too!?”

 That’s amazing…

 I guess you could say Kotono is basically a tourism ambassador for Shizuoka now.

 ”Aqua, by the way, what are we doing for lunch?”

 ”Hmm… Driver, do you have any recommended places to eat?”

 ”Oh, how about eel? When you think of Hamamatsu, you think of unagi!”

 ”Then please let us know if there’s a good place on the way!”

 ”Got it!!”

 When we got dropped off at the restaurant the driver recommended, we all ordered unaju.

 Luckily, we had enough money.

 ”Since we’re here, let’s treat ourselves to the special unaju!”

 ”Sounds good! I love unaju!”

 ”I’m looking forward to the liver soup.”

 ”Why don’t we also have melon for dessert?”

 ”Great idea! I agree with Shintaro!”

 ””Agreed!!””

 It felt bad to just leave the taxi driver waiting, so we invited her to join us at the eel restaurant.

 Man, having plenty of travel money feels great. I suddenly felt rich.

 ”I could eat this sauce with just rice.”

 ”I get that. Junior…”

 ”Yeah, yeah, the sweet and savory taste is the best.”

 ”The sauce is good, but I’m also curious about the grilled eel.”

 For sure… This fluffy texture. I bet even the plain grilled eel would be delicious.

 We enjoyed eel rice and liver soup, then had some juicy crown melon.

 Ah, what is this feeling? My mouth is so happy.

 ”Thank you for the meal!”

 ”Thanks for everything!”

 ”Thank you very much!”

 ”It was delicious!”

 After we thanked the staff, we got back in the taxi to head to Kotono’s family home.

 Oh, but first, we need to buy some flowers.

 ”Driver, I want to buy incense and flowers for the grave…”

 ”Understood. Shall we go to the department store near the station?”

 When we arrived at the department store, it got noisy again.

 ”Wait? Aqua-sama came to a department store other than Fuji!?”

 ”Welcome! We’re so glad to have you here!!”

 As soon as we arrived, many important people from the department store came out.

 We explained our situation and bought flowers, incense, and offerings.

 Alright, now we’re all set. We thanked the department store staff and got back in the taxi to head to Kotono’s family home.

 Wow, just by saying I wanted to go to Kotono’s family home, we actually arrived there.

 ”Thank you, driver!”

 ”No, it’s fine. I’ll wait at the convenience store right in front in case you need a ride back, so just let me know if you need me.”

 ””””Thank you so much!!””””

 I received the key from the staff and opened the front door.

 ”Let’s go in!!”

 Once we all entered Kotono’s family home, we offered our prayers at the family altar in the living room.

 Since real food would spoil, we decided to use flowers instead. We chose preserved flowers, so there’s no need to take care of them while we’re away.

 I tried to choose flowers based on the images I got from both Kotono and the photo of her mom.

 I hope Kotono’s mom will be happy, so I put my hands together in prayer.

 ”Alright, next is the visit to the grave. I asked Kotono for the location just in case.”

 After leaving Kotono’s family home, we called out to the taxi driver from earlier.

 ”Oh, the Kirika family grave, right? Leave it to me!!”

 No way… Huh? Even Kotono’s fans are visiting there!?

 Haha, I bet Kotono doesn’t even know about that…

 I imagined Kotono watching this broadcast and shaking her head, and I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

 ”We’ve arrived! I’ll wait outside again. Aqua-sama, your next stop is Hamamatsu Station, right?”

 ”Yes! Thank you so much!”

 Once we arrived at the cemetery, we cleaned the Kirika family grave properly and offered our respects.

 ”Thanks, everyone, even if it’s for the show.”

 ”No, no. I always get help from Kotono-oneechan, so it’s totally fine!”

 ”Yeah, I’ve received a lot of help from Kotono-san too.”

 ”Right! And when I go back home, I help with visiting the graves of the neighbors, so don’t worry about it!”

 I bowed my head again to thank everyone.

 Alright, next we need to move to Hamamatsu Station. It’s already been over 2 hours…

 I looked at the clock; it was past 3 PM.

 We’re cutting it close.

 ”Driver, please!”

 ”Leave it to me!”

 After getting dropped off at Hamamatsu Station, I asked everyone to arrange our accommodation for tonight and boarded the Shinkansen to Nagoya alone.

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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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