Ever since she was five years old, Sylvia Riess didn't finish her performances without encountering fellow performers in the backstage who, like her, aspire to become idols in their heydays and to become widely known, whether in the local industry or in the international scene, but for this year's edition, she had to admit that this was her first time meeting different, if not strange, people suddenly showing up in the Ai-Fest.
Well, it's quite understandable from her point of view especially if her company had two Level Fives, a sadistic and erotic Level Four Teleporter, a perverted member of a magical organization, a group of former battle nuns, a Priestess and a Saint, and a lot more weird people suddenly singing on the same battlefield as hers.
Currently, the loud roar coming specifically from the crowd became louder as Team Navialand finally took the stage after the duo of Uiharu and Shirai exited the stage. It was apparent from the start that the two Judgment were all shaken up by the experience, especially the former who was the most timid out of her four friends. Shirai fared better although the shock of actually performing in front of some 20,000 people was so heavy that the pressure that accumulated upon her was even greater than that of her duties as a Judgment officer. Add to the fact the she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her onee-sama, Shirai became sluggish at times but all in all, they were able to deliver their own rendition of "Battle Scars."
Prior to that, the Singing Sisters had just finished a while back and it took a few more contestants from other entertainment companies before the duo of Shirai and Uiharu were called up to the stage. Unlike the Judgment duo, they fared a bit better and even got a standing ovation from the crowd since this is a first for a performance that leans heavily on RnB, rap, hip-hop, pop, and other mainstream genres. Not that Gospel Music is a bit unpopular but compared to the contemporary music industry, it's mostly concentrated on traditional Orthodox and Catholic Churches, Protestant denominations, and recently, evangelical groups performing on television.
"Another debuting group is on stage today!" Svento blared in her microphone. "They're all females so the estrogen level this year is so high, Shun-chan!"
"That's right! I'm pretty sure that these rabid male fans would enjoy their segment!" Shun replied. "Let's give it up for Navialand!"
"Oh god, this is real!" From the audience, Tatemiya Saiji can't help but grind his popcorn harder as their very own Itsuwa suddenly emerges from the backstage with the rest of her bandmates. "Oi guys! Where is the cheer?!"
"Let's go, Itsuwa! Sing it, sing it, Itsuwa!" All of the members of the Amakusa Church were in full-attendance and were full-force to cheer for their member, whose composure is a bit shaky owing to the fact that this is her biggest shock in her life.
Somewhere in the seats, Stiyl Magnus is also in attendance. "I can't believe she's even doing this kind of thing." The redhead priest of Necessarius sighed as he immediately spotted his partner, who was a bit nervous at the sight of the thousand fans suddenly taking pictures of them, resulting in a sea of lights and flashes.
So this is what performing in stage looks like? Shutaura, who is in the middle, found herself getting almost blinded by the continuous sea of lights as not surprisingly, she managed to stay calm.
"For their segment, we will have "Oogoe Diamond" and you know who that'll entail!" Svento said, her enthusiasm was spreading and infecting the audience. "Give it up for Navialand!"
Hearing the loud roar, the nine females walked majestically onto the stage before forming into a V-formation.
Back in the dressing rooms, the Short&Silver duo and the duo of Kamijou and Sylvia were watching the events unfold on the television that is attached on the wall. And as usual, Index was the most giddy-headed. Misaka rolled her eyes at their antics (although she was somewhat envious of the attention they were receiving), Uiharu and Shirai were eyeing specifically in Saten and the nuns were sitting blankly in the chairs although Sister Angelene is busy eating her ice cream that she bought from the vending machine.
Hashiridasu BASU oikakete
Boku wa kimi ni tsutaetakatta
Kokoro no moyamoya ga kiete
Taisetsu na mono ga mietanda
Konna kantan na
Kotae ga deteru no ni
Nani ni tameratte miokutta no darou?
Boku ga boku de aru tame ni
Shoudou ni sunao ni narou
"I had to admit…this single of theirs is good to hear." Sylvia smiled.
"Pleasing to the ears, I see…" Kamijou sighed as he tightens his grip in his guitar, resulting in the string almost getting destroyed.
Daisuki da kimi ga daisuki da
boku wa zenryoku de hashiru
daisuki da zutto daisuki da
koe no kagiri sakebou
daisuki da kimi ga daisuki da
iki ga kurushiku naru yo
shimatte okenai
oogoe DAIYAMONDO
"Fukiyose-sama! Hime-yan! Nee-chin!" Somewhere in the crowd, Tsuchimikado cheered in a mocking way as he brought a neon glow stick as their whole class began to cheer wildly the moment their acting class representative, with a headset microphones identical to the ones worn by her group mates, rotated to the front and sang the chorus part like her life depended on it.
"This is the best moment in my life!" Aogami cried in tears of joy as he had watched a lot of girl groups perform for this day. He, too, was carrying a glow stick. In fact, the idiot pair of blue and blonde brought a box full of it and sold them to their class as they took advantage of the event to make money.
"Tsuchimikado-chan, be careful in carrying your popcorn!" Komoe reprimanded her students as she was trying to take pictures of two of her students. "You're spilling them everywhere!"
Ushinau mono ni kitzuita toki
Ite mo tatte mo irarenakatta
Ima sugu boku ni dekiru no wa
Kono omoi kotoba ni suru koto
"Are you fine?" In another part of the crowd, William Orwell, a.k.a Aqua of the Back, awkwardly watched his friend suddenly choke in his water at the exact moment that Kanzaki rotated to the front and the black vest she was wearing just fitted perfectly for her. "It's very unlike of you."
"Yes, I'm fine, my friend." Knight Leader waved it off as he managed to recover in time.
Nazeka sakki kara
Sora wo miteru dake de
Hitomi ga uruuru afurete tomaranai
Bokutachi ga sumu kono sekai wa
Dareka e no ai de michiteru
"The hell did I got myself in to…"
On another part of the crowd, Crow 7 sighed to himself as he ended up becoming the guardian of the rookies in the Black Crow Organization, who were all wildly cheering like their worldly desired has only been fulfilled today. They're acting like they're no agents at all.
"Leader, please treat me to lunch in exchange of taking care of these rascals…"
Zettai ni kimi wo zettai ni
Nidoto hanashi wa shinai
Zettai ni chikau zettai ni
Yatto meguri aetanda
Zettai ni kimi wo zettai ni
Shiawase ni shite miseru
Kiite hoshiinda
Oogoe DAIYAMONDO
Ujiuji shite tatte
Nan ni mo hajimaranai yo
Kanjou hakidashite
Ima sugu sunao ni nare!
Koe ni daseba
Hikari kagayaku
"They're awfully good." Misaka had no choice but to admit the truth. "But in the end, we'll still win."
"Hoh?" Kamijou heard her and he was somewhat fired-up. "They say that you shouldn't be complacent until the final buzzer ended."
"Say what you want but I'll defeat you…" Misaka's eyes glinted with confidence.
Index didn't mind the two as she was busy eating her snacks.
Daisuki da kimi ga daisuki da
Boku wa zenryoku de hashiru
Daisuki da zutto daisuki da
Koe no kagiri sakebou
Daisuki da kimi ga daisuki da
Boku no itoshisa yo todoke
Daisuki da zutto daisuki da
Kaze no naka de sakebou
Daisuki da kimi ga daisuki da
Iki ga kurushiku naru yo
Shimatte okenai
Oogoe DAIYAMONDO
The judges began to write their verdict as their piece winded down.
Yuuki wo dashite iou yo
Damatte icha sono mama sa
Hazukashiku nantenainda
Sukitte kotoba wa saikou sa
Sukitte kotoba wa saikou sa
Sukitte kotoba wa saikou sa
Kanjou hakidashite
Ima sugu sunao ni nare!
Kamijou Touma wasn't a bit surprised when the cheers that they received was the loudest so far in the concert as the lucky fans managed to get a picture with them during the interval.
Index and Misaka only gave a huff as they began to rant.
"I can do better…" The English nun was confident that she can win it all by herself.
Keyword: herself.
"Just shut up, Silver Sister. You're not doing it yourself." Misaka interrupted her moment as she stretches her legs. "We're doing it as a duo so don't just go off while running your mouth."
The moment the Navialand girl group had finally retreated back to the dressing room, it looked like they were all zapped by some electrical current as they looked a bit shaky, especially Itsuwa who wasn't used to this kind of attention as she felt it was far more different than being on a battlefield.
"I felt like I'm about to throw up." Saten said as her eyes were twirling while latching herself onto Uiharu's and Shirai's shoulders. "The blinding lights of the camera flashes are simply too much for me to take." She then drops effortlessly into the arms of Uiharu and Shirai, who only cringed at her actions.
After all of Navialand had returned to the dressing room, Misaka had to push Index out into the stage as the two of them finally entered what would be their highlight of the night. Walking calmly out onto the stage, a silence descended at first as the two then faced the people. Then, as if the crowd had remembered the two of them from either the single that they had released or the fact that they recognized the Level Five Railgun, a surge of screams finally began to roar as it hit the Short&Silver duo squarely. At first, Misaka was able to spot her mother, who was in attendance. And, to no surprise, there is the other Level Fives who are also attending.
"Tsk…" Accelerator immediately took note of Misaka's appearance. "She looked like an idiot out there. Now I know why the music industry here is failing."
"So this is what I have paid for?" Mugino didn't know whether she should be disappointed or amused that she paid a lot of money just to watch this. "Just to see her in those cheap rubber shoes…"
"This is going to be interesting…" Sogiita smiled like a loon as he relaxes himself in his chair.
Somewhere in the crowd, Aihana Etsu emotionlessly fixed his eyes.
Misaka Mikoto, in contrast to the plain English nun, was wearing black leggings with her brightly-colored Asics. She also donned a red checkered long-sleeved polo shirt. Her hair was still chestnut although she had a Gekota pin sticking out of the hair strands.
"Good day, everyone! Hehehe…" Misaka started as she tried to enter into a perky character. At her greeting, the crowd responded with a cheer.
"We're the adorable beings of this show! Introducing, Misaka Mikoto and the not-so-friendly Silver Sister, Index-san!" She was actually sarcastic in her remark although the nun didn't seem to have caught it as she just wave into the throngs of people that is cheering for them.
The crowd now silenced as Misaka motioned for the crowd to settle down so they can start already. Suddenly, the Level 5 electromaster sent sparks to the whole area and as the crowd was engulfed in what looked like a dome of neon colors, she and Index started to sing as soon as the sound systems began to grow in life with every seconds.
She did prepare this carefully and with a plan. Kamijou was impressed with the on-the-spot lighting that the Railgun prepare for this show. So she had no plans to lose to Sylvia at all? Besides, what with…
(Misaka) PURE! PUREPARA-TO!
tsuyouku nanka nai kedo
(Index) PURE! PUREPARE-DO!
itsuka kimi wo tsukamaeru
"They're lovely in their roles…"
"Bwah!" Kamijou nearly broke his guitar the moment Sylvia Riess ambushed him from behind. Sporting a headphone-like hair accessory, the brunette was wearing a purple tank top covered by a white cape-like vest. She had a pencil black skirt and her clogs had pink straps in it. Ah…it's so simple that it actually emphasizes her natural beauty.
"Is it cute?" Sylvia giggled.
"Y-Yeah…" The boy's cheeks were turning red before coughing, "Actually, you're beautiful tonight than the other days. By the way, it looks like Misaka and Index will give their best tonight."
"Really? Then good for them." Sylvia nodded as she crosses her arms while they watch the two perform on screen at the backstage. "That means that there is a bright future for the music industry of Japan…"
"Huh? Well, that too but…" He paused, pondering the next words that he would say, "Remembering the deal that you made with them, don't you feel a bit threatened by them? I mean is…your partnership with me is at stakes…"
"Oh about that, there's nothing to worry about," Sylvia calmly replied, "If anything, they're the ones who feel threatened though I couldn't care less. Besides, you being here is enough and if I had to give up being an idol just to be with you, then I supposed I'll be fine with that…"
"Hah?" The spiky haired boy swore he heard something very outrageous.
"Nothing…." Sylvia smiled and before the boy can even react, she knelt down her body and poked the forehead of the unsuspecting boy, "I was just saying that aside from singing, I have other refined skills like cooking and acting. I can live with either way…"
"Uh…huh…" The boy only managed to mutter.
"What's wrong, Touma-kun…."
"Nothing, it's just that this is the first time someone did that poking thing to me. Not even my parents or in this case, my friends did that," Kamijou rolled his eyes as he remembered Misaka and Index, "I mean, I'm misfortunate so I'm not anymore surprised…"
"Shhh…" Sylvia put her pointing finger in the lips of the boy, "I don't like you saying these kinds of things. Every one of us is special. The fact that of all the sperm that was inside your mom's you're the one who emerged and that alone is a sign that you're special."
Sylvia's words made an impact into the heart of the boy, who was gaping in both surprise and amazement. He nearly wanted to cry when suddenly…
"Sylvia, I'm genuinely surprised except…" The boy coughed to make his throat clear, "For the part where you included sperm. It just sounds weird coming from your mouth."
"Ah sorry, sorry, Touma-kun…"
"Oi!" Svento suddenly from outside the backstage, seemingly calling them out, "You're next! These two brats are finished!"
"Ah, it's seems that we're up next…"
After the Short&Silver duo had sang their opening song as well as their version of Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku and Knights of Cydonia, Misaka and Index received general positive reception as they had loud claps. "So does this mean that it would be that hero who will be next?" Accelerator snorted as his facial expression showed that he wasn't even impressed with the performance with his fellow Level 5.
The moment Sylvia and Kamijou walked up into the stage, a surge of screams hit them squarely as if an earthquake had just occurred. Although scores of people are here to also see the boy that the hafu would be competing with, it seemed that the whole stadium was overflowing with fans of the girl as the latter showed that she's used to this while the boy didn't know if he would just faint or he'll be happy that for once, he would become famous.
"Oh my goodness! The lovely goddess is there!" One fanboy shouted, "That bastard is so lucky to be with her! I wish I can kill him right now!"
"That's what you're screaming about?" One boy said in surprise, "But don't worry, I also wanted to kill him."
"Right!" A few guys who surrounded them agreed.
Sylvia waved at the crowd as soon as she's in the center while the boy was fidgeting as if he's trying to calm down his nerves while he grips on his guitar.
"Good day everyone!" Sylvia started, entering her usual perky self. At Sylvia's greeting, the crowd had responded with a cheer.
"How are you today?!" She asked.
"We're fine!" The audience responded.
"Great, great," Sylvia said while nodding. He then turned to Kamijou and made a head gesture.
"Well, thank you for giving us your undivided attention," she started with a bow. "We're prepared to blow you away." The crowd screamed as they are already getting crazy. Amidst the roaring fans, Kamijou Touya and Shiina can see that their son looks well composed. Well…a bit too cool and well poised.
"And this sophisticated gentleman that I have the privilege to word with is none other than our guitarist for the night, Kamijou Touma a.k.a TK!" Sylvia introduced. "I call him Touma-kun though," she added with a chuckle.
The poor boy can really feel the killing intent coming from the crowd's majority male population and although he really didn't mind this, he can see Aogami and Tsuchimikado shouting cries of "Death to the Kami-yan!" chants and he sighed. Traitors.
"Let me tell you a story before we begin," Sylvia began, going over to Kamijou. "In the infancy of this boy's career, there was one moment when TK had the balls to go and size up upon me to see if he was good enough."
What?! I don't remember doing something like that! The boy mentally screamed.
"Do you want to know what he said to me?" Sylvia practically teased the crowd, "He said 'You were like a sun that shines brightly among those who worship upon you. Please, make me your moon and I will make you, the shining sun, even shone further. Together, we'll shine brighter in a world full of sins and pain."
The crowd cooed and were awed in both the flirty nature of the message and the 'wittiness' of the boy, who only dropped his mouth in extreme incredulousness. "That's it! Let's kill him after this event!" Aogami cried even more as a growing number of boys joined him.
Did he really said that?! Touya and Shiina were shocked.
Back in the backstage, a pair of ominous spirits was coming out of Misaka and Index as the latter wanted to eat the television.
"Hey! I never said anything like that!" Kamijou was flustered as he was now more nervouse. Fortunately, Sylvia then motioned for the stage to keep quiet and after that, she winked at him, "TK-chan, it's your time to shine now. We have practiced this song lots of time. We'll shine together."
Ah right. Kamijou got a hold of himself as he then started to strum his guitar as soon as the soundtrack as playing. After that, he then leaned closer to the microphone as he then opened his mouth.
Kasuka ni terasareta tsuki no michi
Bokura wa doko e yuku no darou?
It was at this point that Sylvia joined him.
Kasuka ni yureru kojou no tsuki
Imada minu mirai o utsushite yo
The crowd grew even quieter the moment they began to sing. Oh my gosh! It sounds so beautiful! Komoe covered her mouth in surprise as Accelerator made no effort to hide his genuine surprise at the song. That fucking hero…
Taisetsu na mono ga fueru no ga kowakute
Tozashite ikiteita noni deatte shimaun da ne
Unmei ga bokura o hikihanasou to shitemo
Sekai o kowashite demo mamoritain da
Utakata no yume to wakattemo
(Sylvia) Dareka to ikiteitai no sa
Ushinau tsurasa o shittemo
(Sylvia) Dareka o omotte shimau no sa
(Touma) Sayonara sayonora
"The song…honestly, it made me want to cry…" Itsuwa fought off tears as she listened to the music, "It's just a beautiful song to listen to."
"I agree, to be honest." Beneath her tough façade, Shutaura can't help but be enamoured to the song, "There's just something about how Sylvia made the lyrics that it's just magical to listen to."
"IT"S UNFAIR!" Index had a different opinion as she was ranting, "Why did I have to end up with this Short Hair?! It makes me look like wimp compared to their song!"
Misaka was about to angrily retort back but Shirai beat her to it, "Well…to be fair with onee-sama, you weren't that helpful as well judging from the past practices that we had."
(Sylvia) Kasuka ni terasareta tsuki no michi
(Sylvia) Bokura wa doko e yuku no darou?
(Kamijou) Mangetsu no yoru ni oto mo naku
(Kamijou) Nanika ga kie yuku shoushitsu no machi
Omoide no kouen mo sabireta hodoukyou mo
Kimi no utau koe mo boukyaku no Kanata
Aisanakereba ushinau koto mo nai no
Atama de wakatteiru no ni kodoku na bokura wa…
Utakata no yume to wakattemo
(Sylvia) Anata to ikiteitai no sa
Ushinau tsurasa wo shittemo
(Sylvia) Anata o aishiteitai no sa
(Sylvia) Saigo no toki made
"It's over already. We already lost at this point." Shutaura declared.
"What do you mean?" Kanzaki asked.
"Besides the timing of her vocals and her pitches, just look the crowd," the Black Crow leader sighed, "If anything, it would take a miracle to bring Sylvia down at this point. The best scenario we can have is either tie their first place, which is already hard, or we'll just pray for the top five."
"Well…that seemed a bit reasonable…" Uiharu nodded.
"Hey, you don't need to bring all of them down!" The ever defiant Misaka shrieked, not wanting to lose to the bet she had originally placed, "You said it yourself that it it's a miracle so we can…"
"Idiot. That's the point of using the word "Miracle" unless if you think you even have the slightest chance against her," Shutaura got irritated.
(Sylvia) Katachi aru mono wa kie yuku
(Sylvia) Kono machi wa sukoshi hayai dake..
Dokoka de mata aeru yo
(Kamijou) "Tsuki ga kirei desu ne"
Uruwashiki, kimi no namida ga
(Sylvia) Wasurenagusa o nurashita
Urei no juugoya ga subete
(Sylvia) Ubaisatte yuku
(Kamijou) Sayonara (Sylvia) sayonara
Sayonara o koete ahhh...
Before the crowd knew it, the duo was over.
"Thank you very much!" Sylvia Riess said with a bow, taking the corwd out of their thoughts. The viewers was still in silence, but the pair on the stage knew (or at least, Sylvia and Shutaura knew) that the best performances are the ones that leave the crowd speechless. They knew they did a good job. Walking off, they caught the look on Svento's face and the woman was tearing up.
"ENCORE!"
That screech halted them in their tracks. On mere instinct, they turned around to see where it came from but inside the theatre were black, it was just impossible to see who it was.
"Encore!"
Another rang out.
"Encore! Encore! Encore!" This time, they could make out the voices of their teammates but not before long, the entire theatre was screaming for an encore. The pair stood frozen in shock. For his part, Kamijou never imagined the audience wanting them to perform twice. All he wanted was just to perform decently with Sylvia and he got more than what he bargained for.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Svento said as she made her way onto the stage from wings. "The crowd loves you two! Perform again for these babies of your!" She teased the two.
"Well, for that…" Sylvia again teased the crowd as she then motioned to the boy beside him, "I believe that this is his battlefield for this night. I believe we should give it for TK!"
The crowd cheered even further.
"What? Me?" Kamijou didn't expect this.
"I'll be singing with you but you'll be the main star," Sylvia smiled, "Choose any song that we practiced before."
And so, the two got into their positions and as soon as the music played, they brought the house down yet again. This time, their performance was bound to be better, being that they've gotten into their groove.
Here we are again
Wake up 5 am
I didn't mean a word I said
Can we just pretend I can take it back?
Change the way the story ends
I remember when things were simple then
Didn't know we hurt this way
I would fall asleep, you would carry me
You would take my fears away
Am I messed up? forever flawed
Beyond repair but forever yours
"Touma-san…" Tears began to flow into the eyes of Shiina as she watched her son perform.
All my life all I ever did was try and try
I never meant to be your problem child
Your problem child, yeah
I don't know why I always find the way to make you cry
I never meant to be your problem child
Your problem child, yeah
"Ah, Kamijou-chan, don't do this to me!" Komoe was already crying as she had to bring out her tissue box to stop the tears.
When you look at me I wonder if you see
All the things you thought I could be
All the crazy night, all the stupid fight
All the tears that filled our eyes
Am I messed up? Forever flawed
Beyond repair but forever yours
All my life all I ever did was try and try
I never meant to be your problem child
Your problem child, yeah
I don't know why I always find the way to make you cry
I never meant to be your problem child
Your problem child, yeah
There was a sudden pause to the lyrics as the soundtrack continued to play. Kamijou took this chance to speak momentarily, "Hey mom and dad! I know that you were worried a lot about me despite the fact that I always get involved in things that you don't want me to be in. I just wanted to say things I have bottled to myself: I love you both and I'm sorry for always being a bad son, it that was the case. For this night, I dedicate this song not only to my parents who always bust their asses to provide what I need but also to everyone who genuinely care for each other."
The crowd suddenly began to cry as well as the boy then took his guitar to resume his song.
All my life all I ever did was try and try
I never meant to be your problem child
Your problem child, yeah
I don't know why I always find the way to make you cry
I never meant to be your problem child
Your problem child, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Your problem child, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Your problem child, yeah
The two were finally finished although it was the boy who did most of the work. Svento and Taichi came to have a word with them.
"How does it feel? It's your début stage and you managed to get an encore." Taichi smiled at Kamijou as he asked. "It…feels…" Kamijou said in between pants to catch his breath. It was not easy playing the guitar and singing that routine. "…I don't know. I never imagined it to be like this."
"I've never imagined that I would be in a position like this…" Sylvia joined in, sweating slightly.
"We're extremely grateful," Kamijou said in one breath. He then sucked in a breath and exhaled. He was already exhausted at this point.
"Another song! Give us another song!" A shout from one section of the theatre sounded. The two hosts and the two singers froze.
"WHAT?!" Misaka can't believe it.
"I did not see this coming. Such misfortune…" Kamijou said after he could breathe normally again. The chants continued, and Svento decided to intervene.
"Well, Sylvia-chan and TK-san, they want another song. How about it?" She asked in a cautious way.
"Uhm…" Kamijou started, "We didn't expect this reaction." This wasn't a complete lie for the boy. They only intended to tear the place down; getting the chance to perform another song thrice never crossed their minds.
"Plus, other artists have to perform as well, right? We can't cut into their times." Sylvia said and she genuinely meant that as this was actually her first time performing an enchore thrice. But Svento grinned. The boy trembled as he knew that the woman wasn't going to be swayed. Damn it!
"Don't worry about it. So, how about 'Happy'?" He asked, but his face indicated that he was issuing a command.
"But she's right, Svento-san," Taichi said. "Man, I never knew audiences could get this greedy?"
"Okay, give us a little piece out of All She knows. About a minute or ―"
"―thirty seconds." Taichi interrupted. "The clock's ticking…"
"Ah, what's wrong? Let them do it." A female voice said from the crowd. It was a fan girl of Kamijou. He walked out onto the stage, waving to the fans. "Don't be like that, Taichi-san. We love TK-chan already!"
TK-chan?! Kamijou, Misaka, Index, Shokuhou, the Kamijou parents, Komoe, and Fukiyose all thought the same thing.
"You shouldn't be like that." Suddenly, one of the managers from the other groups walked out and grabbed Taichi in his collar. "They have their program set up, you know? One minute," he said as he looked to the two. "If anything, with Sylvia-sama, you boy can be the show's closing act later on, neh?" She smiled.
"Do you hear that?" Svento said to the audience. "Their next song will be All She Knows! Now, I just wonder how many hearts TK-san or Sylvia-san can make cry."
"Humph!" Taichi butted in. "I think the audience's hearts are already captured before they are broken." He then laughed. "I mean, didn't you hear the screeches and screams from the audience earlier? Not even the prior groups had this kind of reception. It seemed that Sylvia-sama had found a suitable partner for herself…"
"I think some of them may end up hoarse." Svento laughed. "Be careful now, young folks. Let's give it up for their last performance!"
I'm not going to like this. Kamijou sighed as he once again started singing.
(Kamijou) Sadness had been close as my next of kin
(Kamijou) Then Happy came one day, chased my blues away
(Kamijou and Sylvia) My life began when Happy smiled
(Kamijou and Sylvia) Sweet, like candy to a child
(Kamijou and Sylvia) Stay here and love me just a while
(Kamijou) Let sadness see what Happy does
(Kamijou) Let Happy be where Sadness was
Well, at least someone made the cost worth it after that Railgun's non-sense performance. Mugino frowned.
(Sylvia) Happy, that's you
(Sylvia)You made my life brand new
(Sylvia) Lost as a little lamb was I, till you came in
(Kamijou and Sylvia) My life began when Happy smiled
(Kamijou and Sylvia) Sweet, like candy to a child
(Kamijou and Sylvia) Stay here and love me just a while
(Sylvia) Let sadness see what Happy does
(Sylvia) Let Happy be where Sadness was
(Touma) (Till now)
A growing number of the female population had already grown hysterical as they wanted every piece of the boy.
(Kamijou all the way)
Where have I been?
What lifetime was I in?
Suspended between time and space
Lonely until Happy came smiling up at me
Sadness had no choice but to flee
I said a prayer so silently
Let Sadness see what Happy does
Let Happy be where Sadness was
Till now
Happy, yeah yeah…lalalalalalalalalala
Happy, ooooh happy,,, lalalalalalalalalala
Happy oh yeah Happy
Well…you did a good job. Kanzaki thought as the Earth once again shook with the number of fan girls that is squealing.
After Kamijou and Sylvia performed, the soloists were introduced, and they too performed a couple songs. Svento and Taichi kept the crowd enthused with their antics and chemistry on the stage. Together, they made a powerful duo which never left the audience bored even if their favourite actors aren't in the stage.
At the end of the Ai-Fest, fans were able to meet with their favourite idols for a handshake event held in the compound. This became a headache for the bouncers as almost every girl who was present in the event swarmed around poor Kamijou Touma, who found his hands already aching from having to sign from his fans' t-shirt to even extreme ones like a teen's own bra, which freaked out both Misaka and Index.
After they got past that, the awarding ceremonies is already underway and not surprisingly, for the company that both Svento and Sylvia works on, their affiliates were in the top ten. Shirai and Uiharu landed in rank nine and the Navialand girls landed at second. And…
"And for the champion!" Svento announced, "Well…we actually have two winners for just the second time of this festival's history. First off! TK and Sylvia Riess!" There was a high pitched roar coming from the crowd as the two came up on stage to receive their trophy.
"Ah! We got this!" Misaka smiled sadistically.
"Yay! We will win this, for sure!" Index was also confident.
"And the other winner is…"
There was suspense in the atmosphere as every crowd was already waiting for the other one.
"It's none other than…the underdog Singing Sisters!"
There was a moment of silence as the nuns who were present were too shocked to even move.
"WHAAAT?!"