Y-You quit your agency?!

Why?!
You guys were so popular! That seems like a total waste!

Popularity? That has nothing to do with our dream! We wanna become the best musicians in the world!

I don't care how big those snobs' agency is. I'm not letting them walk all over us just because they agreed to have us on some TV show.

Appearing on TV did have its benefits since it gave our songs more exposure. But we didn't set out to become on-air personalities.

I mean, seriously.
They just kept going on and on about going on variety shows and appearing in these dumb romance movies. They even had the nerve to start trying to meddle with our songs.

Hahaha. I did warn you that the way most people become famous nowadays wouldn't really be for you.

But I do understand how someone would want a handsome guy like Ken to appear in a movie for them.

I was hoping we could stay since we owed that agency quite a bit... But we reached the final straw. We just couldn't let them encroach any further.

So, what are you guys gonna do now...?

Good question. Ken's got a college degree. You on the other hand, Taiga... You didn't even finish high school. Do you have a plan moving forward?

Yeah, of course.

We're gonna start our own label.

Your own label?!

That's right! We had a long discussion, and we decided to start our own label here while continuing to perform!

In other words, it's back to square one for us!

Hah hah hah!
Talk about doing things the hard way!

As hard as it sounds...
It sounds like the right option for your team...

Then, Nagi, Ken, Taiga, we'll be rooting for you guys! My wife and son are also huge fans!

Haha!
Wait, your son only just learned to walk, didn't he? Won't we be bad influences on him?

Nah, it's all a part of getting a rounded education.

Hey, we have our own problems to deal with right now. We don't have time to be thinking about other people's families...

We need to see if it's actually going to be possible for our label to even survive, and a whole list of other things to consider.

Yes, we know. Which is why you get to handle all of that, Ken! I mean, you're just so much better at those things than we are.

Nagi...

Hehe. We'll be counting on you, Ken!

Anyway, we're still going to become the best musicians in the world!

*Sigh*
Tours with back-to-back shows are always so exhausting...

We were in Miyagi yesterday, Kanagawa today and we need to be in Osaka tomorrow by noon. Still, this is for the sake of our label. We have to keep going.

Taiga, instead of preaching, mind taking the wheel from here...?

You want me to drive? Fine.
But you're getting one between the eyes if you fall asleep.

Be careful what you say, big guy.
Remember who's been driving us until now?

Alright, I get it...!
Also, Nagi, wake up! That's enough beauty sleep!

...
Huh?! What?!

Wait, Taiga, you're not seriously driving next, are you?! Ken, can you please keep driving? He always gets really grumpy whenever anyone else falls asleep!

Look, I could really use a break now...
Also, we should all be able to stay awake as long as we keep talking like this.

This is why we should've hired a driver. Then, we could've all slept as much as we wanted.

That costs money, which we don't have right now. Don't forget that we're not signed to a big label anymore.

Still, I can't believe how much of a toll this is taking on us. I feel like we could do a lot more when we were younger...

Like when we were still in school and sang for hours at COL after school?

We were so young back then.
All we did was sing! It'd be Friday night one second, then we were rushing to school in a panic on Monday the next! Those were the days.

Oh, also!
Because of that, I remember all your fans being jealous of me since the three of us always came to school together, Ken!

Wait, really?

Here we go, acting cool again. You've been doing that for as long as I can remember.

But now, you're married to a charming, pretty woman like Yuka. You really don't know what life has in store for you, huh?

Haha. I thought you went to school to study, not chase after girls, college boy.

Hey, cut me some slack. It was love at first sight.

Anyway, we don't have time for this right now. If we don't make it to Osaka today, we'll have to sleep in the car.

What...?!
Taiga, drive! Now!

Wow, her hands and feet are so soft and adorably tiny! Seriously, Ken, your daughter's too beautiful!

I mean, look at her eyes!
They're just like Yuka's!

Yeah, you're right.

Have you already picked a name?

Yeah.
She's An. An Shiraishi.

Really?! An! An!
Yeah, it's perfect for her!

She's going to be a good kid! I know it! She'll be the nicest person everyone knows!

Do you think she'll ever want to pursue music, like us?

Who knows?
But she sounds like she has a lot of energy.

She does.

Oh, also!
About what we'll be doing as a team moving forward...

I was thinking that we could stop doing shows for a while in order to focus on mixing and recording.

Mixing?

Yeah, Nagi and I discussed it the other day.

Knowing you, Ken, we guessed that you'd wanna spend as much time as you can with An.

You guys...

We obviously need to keep expanding the label. Fortunately, we're sort of on our feet now...

A lot of people have been downloading our tracks online! We've even been receiving offers from abroad from people saying that they want to use them.

Since we've managed to catch a nice tailwind, we thought it'd be good to focus more on mixing our songs and stuff instead!

We were planning on doing this eventually anyway, but this opportunity sort of just fell in our lap...

So, for now, be with your wife and daughter. You'd rather hang out with your daddy, right, An?

Hey, my ugly mug isn't making her cry.
She might just have what it takes to become a star.

Will you stop...?
Still, I agree with Taiga. You should spend as much time as you can with An.

I mean, you don't want this cutie getting tired of you, right? Keep in mind that she won't care how handsome or dashing her daddy is.

You guys...

Alright, I will.
Thanks...

Alright then, Dad, I'm gonna go home now!
Bye bye, Uncle Taiga!

Alright, I'll see you later.

I know you're excited about lunch, but don't trip and fall on your way over, okay?

Hey, I'm not a kid anymore, so don't tease me like that! Anyway, bye!

Anyway, let's get down to business...

Our US tour is this close to becoming a reality. Our sponsors sound pretty optimistic about it, so I'm looking forward to hearing some good news soon.

Taiga, have you already booked some flights for us? The executives of Burner Records apparently want us to meet them in person.

Yeah, they're booked.
But...

The problem is Nagi...

I know...
I never imagined her collapsing from anemia again.

She hasn't been well for a while now... Is everything really okay with her?

I don't know... She said it was just a cold, but maybe we should take another trip to the hospital.

Yeah, I'll join you.

We have a few CDs releasing soon, so it'll be nice to discuss the plan for our tour next year in more detail.

Hey, Nagi.
You never call me. How's it—

What?

Nagi!

Oh...

Taiga, Ken...
Sorry, but thanks for coming...

We had to. I mean, what are you doing at the hospital? What happened? Is it anemia again?

...

So, um...

Just...try to stay calm and listen.

Hm...?

I...have pancreatic cancer.

What...?

And it's apparently pretty bad.
The doctor said I have maybe five months to live...

Five months...?

No, wait. You're kidding, right?
I thought they always told the patient's family these things first.

I asked them to tell me the results first because I know you're both incredibly busy right now...

So, you really only have...?

Yeah...
They said I'll be able to walk around and stuff for a little while longer.

But no amount of chemotherapy is apparently going to help.

I'm sorry. We'd finally made it... The deal with Burner Records, the US tour...and now this happens.

I'm really...sorry.

But I guess we won't be able to rule the world together.

That's not...the point...

Let's all just take a deep breath...

I mean... I'm still having trouble processing what I just heard...

Same...

Haha... I know...
I'm the one who's sick, but even my mind still can't seem to come to grips with it.

Still, I think I'm doing better than you two...

When I called Mom and everyone earlier, she yelled at me for giving her such terrible news after not calling in forever. She was so distraught that I had to be the one to stay calm and get her to settle down.

Oh... Right...

...

So, about us... About the future of RADder...

You two should decide what happens moving forward.

I mean, I'll be gone in less than six months, so I don't really have a say anymore...

I'm going to think about what I'd like to do before I go...

Maybe we should all take some time to each think about what to do moving forward.

(Nagi's...terminal...)

(Nagi...won't be here anymore...)

(No good...
It's not hitting me...)

...!
Burner Records just sent us an email...

(Now...?!
I'm still processing what I just heard.)

Taiga...
It's from Burner, but I'm putting them on hold for—

Ken...

Sorry, but I don't think I can talk about any of that right now.

I...can't think about the future.

Right. Yeah...
Sorry, I didn't mean to...

...

We can talk about this later.
About us, and our future...

Thanks...

...

...!

Dammit...! Dammit, why...?!

Why...?

Why...?! Why Nagi...?!
Did it really have to be her...?!?!

Why...?! Why...?!

Why Nagi...?!