Hey.
Akito, welcome.
The usual?
Yes, please.
(Toya isn't here yet.
Huh...?)
Ken, where's An at?
Hm? Oh, she's out getting some stuff for me. She should be back soon.
Okay.
Here's your usual blend...
Want some extra sugar with that?
No, I'm good.
Haha.
Oh, I heard that you helped An with something.
Huh? Oh...
I'm not sure how much it helped, but I just asked her if anything was going on with her...
I guessed that something was and...
————! ——————!!
————! ————~~~!!
...!
(Toya and I were surprised, but she really had it the worst from what I could tell.)
(I've experienced that before too, so I knew how she felt then.)
The BAD DOGS, huh? Akito's new partner's got some real talent, don't you think...?
Yeah, he does. Akito can probably just leave the singing to him and lip sync everything else.
Hahaha! Why isn't he doing that already?
I know, right? Kind of a “use or lose it” situation, you know?
(Having an incredible partner is something anyone can be proud of...)
(But being that person's partner and keeping it that way isn't easy.)
Are you still worried about An?
Huh? No, I was just thinking about something that happened a long time ago...
A long time ago...?
Oh, that's right. You did go through quite a lot.
But you showed all those naysayers what you were made of and made it this far.
Seeing my customers' opinions about you changing over time has been pretty fun to watch.
...!
Yeah, I guess I just hate losing.
Haha. I can tell.
Now that you mention it, this might end up being a good experience for An.
Huh...? You think so? I mean, she seemed pretty depressed from what I saw.
She'll be fine.
Yes, she's my daughter and I love her, but she's yet to experience any sort of real loss or failure...
Of course, she hasn't.
She has more talent than anyone my age.
Right. And her first major challenge came in the form of finding the “right partner”.
Oh, there's also that time you guys performed in STAY GOLDEN and didn't do as well as you were hoping.
...
But that's it. Those are the only times she fell short.
There may be other things that I just don't know about or she hasn't told me...
But compared to you and Toya, she's had to deal with far less. You've been climbing a big hill while she's been on flat ground.
Yeah, I guess so...
However, she still wants to surpass RAD WEEKEND.
Plus, Arata's returned at the perfect time, so she may yet be faced with another significant challenge.
Although, she didn't end up being the one to take the bait...
Ugh...! I'm not losing next time...!
Hahaha!
Still, to think that her partner causing a stir would coincide with STAY GOLDEN both times.
In hindsight, An made a good decision in terms of choosing a partner.
And she's not done yet...
Right. They're both good singers in their own right, but their partnership is still in its infancy...
If something like this does happen again, I hope you and Toya will be there to help them out.
We will.
That's what being a team's all about.