Bout for Beside You - 2: The Mysterious Man's Identity

Live House

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A Mysterious Man

♪ ————! ————!
♪ ————————!!

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Kohane

Listen

...

Kohane

Listen

(This is incredible...!)

Kohane

Listen

(Just listening to this is making my heart race...!!)

Arata

Listen

...

Arata

♪ ————!!

Akito

Listen

(No way...!
He seems completely powerless...!)

Akito

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You're kidding... This is what we're up against...?

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Toya

Listen

Oh...

Toya

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(My fingers...
I must've curled them up subconsciously somewhere along the way.)

Toya

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(Is this performance having that much of an effect on me...?)

Arata

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*Huff*... *Huff*...

A Mysterious Man

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You've improved a lot, Arata.

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Arata

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Is that supposed to be a compliment...?

A Mysterious Man

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Oh, right...
My bad...

A Mysterious Man

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From my point of view, all of you guys... Sorry, you're still just a newbie when it comes to singing...

Arata

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That's not who I am anymore...

A Mysterious Man

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I see...

A Mysterious Man

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Arata...
If you're serious about surpassing RAD WEEKEND, keep this one thing in mind.

Arata

Listen

Huh...?

A Mysterious Man

————————

A Mysterious Man

Listen

Once you understand what that means, you'll be ready...

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Arata

Listen

...

Kohane

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I didn't know he could sing like that...

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Listen

Huh?
Kohane, you know him?

Kohane

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Yeah, I do. He was the one who told me about committing to myself more.

Akito

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What...?! Seriously...?!

Toya

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Shiraishi, Akito, who is he exactly?

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Oh, his name's Taiga Kotaki...

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He used to be my dad's partner and helped put on RAD WEEKEND... Or rather, he's part of why it became such a legendary night...

Kohane

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Wh-Whaaat...?!

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Audience

I didn't realize he was back...!

Audience

Who is that guy?!

Audience

Wait, you don't know?!
RAD WEEKEND happened because...

Taiga

Listen

Okay, time to get out of here before they get wise about...

???

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Uncle Taiga!

Taiga

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Uncle?
The only one who calls me that is...

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Listen

Long time no see!

Taiga

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Hey, An! It's you!

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Sure is!
It's good to see you again!

Taiga

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Hahaha!
Look at you! All grown up!

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Of course I am.
I'm in high school now.

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But no one said anything about you coming back! You could've at least popped in for a visit.

Taiga

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Sorry, I promised an old buddy of mine that I'd visit their live house and had to take care of some other stuff too.

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Well, how about you come over now? I'm sure Dad would be ecstatic.

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Also, lemme introduce you to my team!

Taiga

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You mean, Vivid BAD SQUAD?
I've actually already heard you guys perform.

Listen

You have? Like at an event?

Taiga

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Yeah. Looks like you've been hard at work.

Taiga

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Your teammates don't seem like slouches either.

Akito

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Th-Thank you...

Toya

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We appreciate your kind words.

Kohane

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Um, excuse me...!!

Taiga

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Hm?
Hey, it's you.

Kohane

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Th-Thank you for giving me that advice the other day...!

Kohane

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I was able to realize something really important because of it.

Taiga

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Haha. There's no need to thank me!

Taiga

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But your performance the other day was pretty good...

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Oh...

Kohane

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Th-Thank you very much...!!

Taiga

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Anyway, An, can we head over now? I might have to ask Ken to make me some of his coffee too.

Listen

Yeah, uh... Let's go!

Vivid Street

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Akito

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Hey, An...

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Hm? Yeah?

Akito

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Everything I know about Taiga has to do with his stage performances...

Akito

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That includes a rumor about how he and Ken split after having a huge fight.

Listen

What?
Oh, right... I remember that rumor floating around too!

Akito

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People were saying that Taiga left right after RAD WEEKEND because of that too. You know anything about that...?

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They're just rumors, right?
I mean, as far as I know, they fought so much because they knew each other so well...

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(But it is true that he went overseas right after that...)

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(Did something really happen between him and Dad...?)

Taiga

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Alright, time to finally greet that jerk after all this time...

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*Gasp*

Weekend Garage

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An's Father

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Welcome. Sit wherever you...

An's Father

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...!

Taiga

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Hey...

An's Father

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Just, “Hey”...?
Nice...

An's Father

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You've got a lot of nerve coming here.

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Listen

D-Dad...?!

Toya

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What's going on...?

Akito

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Were the rumors true...?

An's Father & Taiga

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Hahahahahaha!!

Taiga

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Priceless!!
That was like something you see in the movies!!

An's Father

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Hey, that's something you always used to say. I just played along.

Taiga

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You know me all too well, partner!

Kohane

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Hehe...
Looks like they're having fun.

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Toya

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Yes, it certainly seems that way.

Akito

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Geez, they really had me going there for a second...

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Thank goodness too...!

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Anyway, let's sit down!
It's time I formally introduced you all to him!

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Would that be okay, Uncle Taiga?

Taiga

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Sure. I'll be happy to oblige you, An. Your father's a bit of a different story.

An's Father

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That's what you're going with after all this time?

Listen

Okay, lemme start introducing everyone to you!

Next Chapter: An Unexpected Invitation