Blue Archive story · Volume 5, Chapter 2, Episode 23
Vol. 5 Ch. 2 Ep. 23: Festive Songs For All
2 scenes, 127 lines
1. Part 1
44 lines
What? You want to go ahead with the Waraku Festival? Now?!
Yes. All the necessary equipment is already prepared, correct?
Well, yeah, but still...
How are we supposed to hold a festival in the middle of all this?
There are monsters everywhere, and the citizens are terrified. Even if we try to pretend everything is fine and dandy...
To each of you, who take pride in your festivals and have put so much effort into this day, I apologize for saying this...
...but right now people knowing that the festival will go on takes priority over its actual success.
Festivals are meant to be the very embodiment of cheer and celebration, yet ours may well be marked with sheer terror. At a glance, it would seem to be the opposite of balance.
But...
I know. Forcing the festival under these circumstances puts everyone at risk.
Even now, my insides rebel at the idea of putting Chise on the stage, right in the middle of that danger.
But this is all that's left within our power.
The Festival Department need not stay until the end. Take shelter where you can.
Please just teach us to operate the equipment, and the Yin-Yang Club will handle the rest.
I-I want to help! Until the very end!
...Umika?
Last time, at the lantern festival, I passed out and was completely useless... And you want me to just sit by and let history repeat itself?
I'm a proud member of the Festival Department, and I won't accept that!
Me too, President!
We don't throw festivals because they're fun, we throw them to have fun!
If we allow petty outsiders to make us stumble in our ideals, then that would mean the end of festivals forever!
I could not rise to the occasion last time...
...but not today! Today, I will do my utmost to drive off these ruffians! I will guard the festival with my life!
...If I'm being honest...
I'm boiling with anger too.
The students of Hyakkiyako have been looking forward to this festival for so long.
And it's not just our department. Students, civilians, vendors... They've put their blood, sweat, and tears into making it happen.
Forget their elegance! Forget their ghost stories! Disrupting our beloved festivals not just once, but twice, with that baloney is unforgivable in my book!
Yeah, yeah!
Kaho, will holding the Waraku Festival stop Nature's Beauty, or whatever they are?
I can't promise that. But I do know that it's the last thing they would want.
In that case, let's show them exactly what Hyakkiyako's about!
L-Let us help too!
Yes! Izuna, Tsukuyo, and the president! The three of us will stand by your side and give our whole hearts to this mission! Nin-nin!
Oh... I don't know about all that...
But Sensei gave us this mission. And as a ninja, it's my duty to see it through to the end.
Let's enjoy the Waraku Festival to the fullest!
Oooh... I'm really fired up!
In that case, you'll have to go on stage soon, Chise. Have you prepared your song?
Yes. All prepared and ready.
We'll keep you safe, so you can just focus on your performance, okay?
2. Part 2
83 lines
...Just what are you scheming, President Niya?
Oh? I don't believe I've had the pleasure?
Am I talking to the bard who orchestrated this little event? Or maybe you're just another shadow.
A bard? You're comparing me to that foolish little brat? You may be the head of the Yin-Yang Club, but I'd tread carefully with your insults.
Fufu, is that so? It's just that you quite reminded me of Shuro, barging in here without even an introduction.
It was not my intention to offend, of course. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
...Your cheap provocations will not improve your situation.
Like how your boorish attempts to force this festival of yours will amount to nothing.
...Ho.
Then I suppose I'll introduce myself.
They call me Habu Azami.
As you guessed, I'm tonight's storyteller, Nature's Beauty's Phantom Artist, and Miss Kokuriko's most trusted aide.
We destroyed Inou's Phantom Records during the last incident...
Repetition makes even the most amusing of tales pretty tedious, but I suppose those of bad taste...
Again, you insult me. That mediocre tome attempts to tell a tale without even a single illustration.
My tome, on the other hand, is the Toutei's Phantom Illustrations. It is born of human fear.
Hazy desire feeds the Phantom Records. Fear, on the other hand... The Phantom Illustrations' fear is visceral. Vivid. Exquisite.
Desires are fleeting, fickle, but fears take root in the very soul of a person.
From tiny bugs to giant beasts. Familiar tormentors to nameless strangers.
One cannot dismiss fear by turning their head, closing their eyes. Its brushstrokes scar with a scathing intensity.
Struggle as they may, humans are incapable of overcoming their fears.
As long as Hitotsume's gaze is trained upon you, you will find yourself in an endless nightmare. And that nightmare will become the seedbed for the Phantom Illustrations' reign.
Nyahaha. Its "seedbed," you say? Are your old-fashioned colloquialisms popular over at the Ebisu branch?
I'll ask you one more time, President Niya.
Are you so naive to think that this hopeless struggle of yours will change the outcome of tonight's events?
Then why do you insist on this fruitless festival of yours?
Is this some ploy to alleviate your personal guilt?
...I have a question of my own, Azami.
From our turbulent past to the present...
Phantoms once roamed Hyakkiyako freely, spreading their ghost stories far and wide. Do you know why, after our schools merged, they now only rarely dance along the outskirts of our district?
The work of your meddling Yin-Yang Club, undoubtedly.
Nyahahaha! How cute of you.
I never would've stuck around as the president if holding off phantoms fell under my purview.
The answer is simple: Hyakkiyako's festivals.
...The festivals?
You're getting it. Flashy, extravagant festivals that brought a once-divided district together.
You really never once considered it?
Isn't it strange that the Festival Operations Department has the power it does? Not a student council, not a disciplinary committee. A mere club, managing our yearly calendars, overseeing the academy's finances.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not because I'm lazy. Kuzunoha herself set this system in place.
It's said that festivals were once holy rites to communicate with the heavens.
We offered food, spoke of our hardships, and sent heartfelt wishes for a peaceful future.
To summarize for you, what we're putting on tonight is no mere festival.
...It's a great rite, our festival, that will usher in a serene tomorrow.
What are you...?
Hitotsume's eye...is fading?
You! What have you done?!
Nothing in particular. Just what I've always done.
The Yin-Yang club exists to maintain balance.
If the town is flooded with yin, we'll simply balance it with yang... It's in our name, after all.
Th-There's an eye this way too!
It doesn't matter which way we run! We can't escape its gaze!
That stare... Argh! These terrible thoughts are too much! Make it stop!
It's over... Everything's over... Without the Hyakkaryouran here to protect us, that monster will swallow us all!
...Huh? Is something...singing?
Are you hearing things now too? Who could possibly be singing right now?
No, no. Listen. Don't you hear it? I...know that voice...
Everyone, the Waraku Festival will go on! Please gather at the stage!
It's your once‑in‑a‑lifetime chance to hear Chise's unreleased song from the very front row!
And we're releasing all of the limited-edition Chise merch we've been saving just for today!
Please refresh yourself with a cold cherry blossom soda on your way to the stage!
Who...is that performer?
Are you serious?! That's Chise! This entire festival is about her, Hyakkiyako's #1 idol, Princess Waraku!
They're still holding the festival? I never thought I'd hear her voice ever again...
Out of my way! I'm going to see Chise's live performance!
Our lives are in danger! You're going to go enjoy a FESTIVAL right now?!
If I'm doomed, then I want to meet the end by Chise's side!
...I'll acknowledge that this was a decent play on your part.
This was your scheme all along, to neutralize the Phantom Illustrations' fear with the festival's cheer.
But what now? Do you intend to hold an eternal festival?
As soon as your little festival ends, fear will once again grip the academy.
All this does is delay the inevitable. You can only avert its gaze for so long.
Is that so? I'm flattered that you're so enthralled with me, but shouldn't you spare a little attention to where it's looking now?
You'll miss the beautiful fireworks show going on above the Tenshukaku.
...Of all things, why would I care about a fireworks show?
Oho, you don't know? Allow me to educate you.
Long before wireless comms came into play, people used fireworks as signal flares when they needed rescue.
You little...! You signaled the Hyakkaryouran?!
This is the marksmanship of the Hyakkaryouran...
Our blazing youth!