Until You Shine Like Deneb ch8: That Bird Can't Shine By Herself

"...Nahane?"

Th-The lines...
Ah...

!

Atori's "first" is mine!

Hitoha-san...?

Hitoha-san

Ah, Raika-chan!?
Um, you see,

Atanabe-san collapsed in the office...
Eh!?

We're at the hospital now.
Don't worry, it's nothing serious. It seems she just overworked herself.
But I thought I should let you know anyway...

Overwork.
It's because I didn't try harder to stop her...
Is Atori-chan with you?
Yes, she is.
Um, we'll be right there...

No, it's getting late. You two should go straight home.

Sasori-chan and I are here for Atanabe-san.

...Understood.
Yes... Yes...
Take care.

Atori... Atanabe-san collapsed.
Eh?
It's nothing serious.
She just needs to rest a little.

I'm worried...

Ng...
D-

Don't worry! She's got Hitoha-san and Sasori-san with her!
We should head home.
I'll see you off.

...Yeah, I guess so.

I went
and kissed her.

What do I do? I can't let Atori see my face.
So that's what kissing is like.

...Okay!
I've already satisfied my own ego
and there's Atanabe-san to worry about, so I should focus on the play.

...?

Why does my face feel so hot?

To be on the safe side, she'll be spending today and tomorrow resting in hospital.

I know you're worried that Atanabe-san isn't around...
but let's do our best.

Atanabe-san always works too hard...
For Cycnus' sake...

...Once we've finished this dress rehearsal,
let's go visit her.

Keeping track of where to stand was tougher than we expected.
We struggled to make use of the stage we spent ages cleaning.

But we can do this!

My first miracle.
I pray this miracle...

p10

Wait, I got her "first"...!

But I shouldn't have watched that...
Next time, it'll be the real deal.
Our first performance will be the matinee at 12:30 tomorrow. I'm counting on you all.

p11

Good work, Atori.

Thank you.

...Good job not forgetting your lines.
Yeah. It's because you were watching me, Raika.
I see. Your singing and acting was on top form too.

Practising on the hill... paid off, huh?

...Yeah.

...Do those two seem kinda stiff to you?

p12

Cycnus (8)
Good night.
Atanabe-san, don't worry. We're doing well. Get some sleep.
Morning! Let's do this, Cycnus!
Fufu... Fight on, Cycnus... My eyes are wide awake this morning.

Today... it finally begins.

Shouldn't you be going too, Sasori-sama?
Says the one who collapsed.

p13

There were no problems with the dress rehearsal.
I'll just see them once the play begins...

I've left Hitoha in charge of the others.
I'm more worried about you, Atanabe.

You're exaggerating... It was just a little wobbliness in the legs.

Scriptwriting, music and choreography... on top of coaching.
You've been doing pretty much everything, haven't you, Atanabe?

p14

...So you noticed, huh.
The script was written at high speed but nobody knew the name of who wrote it.
They didn't come up in any search result, but their casting was precise...

That's when I suspected that this was all the work of one person.

What is Nabe Ataru / Bana Tea?

From there, we have the anagrams.
That's what clinched it.

Impressive.

p15

...And here I should've already known
that I was relying on you too much.

I'm sorry...

p16

There's no need to apologise, Sasori-sama.
I did it because I wanted to.

Besides, more than "sorry", there are other words I'd like to hear from you.
Other words?

Ah.

...Thank you.
Yes.

Hey, Atanabe.
Why did you call your script "Scars and Loneliness"?

p17

Well you see...

Hm...?

Ah.
Good morning.

Raika...
She was sleeping so comfortably,

p18

so I wasn't sure if I should wake...

Did it unconsciously...

Y-You didn't need to come wake...

Hah...
...

What... time is it?
Just a little before noon.

p19

The play starts at 12:30...
Yes.
If I were to head to the venue right now...

I'd probably get there 15 minutes after it starts?

...Why
are you here right now, Raika?
Eh?

p20

Ah... I've already seen Atori off to the venue.
I didn't really have a role on stage,

so I figured I should come see how Atanabe-san was doing.

...Well,
it's mostly because I was scared of having to see that kiss scene again, though...

...Sasori-san?
...now.

p21

GET BACK TO THE VENUE RIGHT NOW!!

Eh...?
Have you...
seriously not realised?

p22

Th-That's a lot of guests, isn't it!?
Is Atori that popular...?

Maybe those ridiculous fliers actually proved to be really effective...!
The fact it doesn't really stand out compared to other fliers itself made it stand out...
Surprising, isn't it!!
Gather round, everyone~

p23

Sasori-chan and Atanabe-san aren't here...
but let's all stay calm.
It's finally showtime!

You'd better get yourself ready too...

Hah... Hah...

p24

The perfect disguise!

I'm looking forward to it!
Felicette...?
It's Feli...
The entrance for "Scars and Loneliness" is this way~

This is bad.
I think that girl...

p25

Atori
becomes unable to move if you're not there with her, Raika!

p26

Hah Hah

Warning