Comet Show – Week-end at the Aquarium (Chapter 5–9)

Characters

Writer

Akira

Translation

310mc

Proofreading

honeyspades, moricchiichan

Chapter Index

Ch 5 - Ch 6 - Ch 7 - Ch 8 - Ch 9

Chapter 5

Location: Aoumi Aquarium (Main Exhibit)

Another several minutes later…

(Ahhh, this is so depressing… I wanna die…)

(In the end, Tetora-kun and Shinobu-kun said they’re gonna take longer getting here…)

(And Shinkai-senpai went off somewhere ‘cause he suddenly had an urgent matter to deal with in the aquarium…)

(Thanks to that, now it looks like Morisawa-senpai and I are on an aquarium date for literally no reason besides us being alone together…)

(It feels like fate itself is trying to force me in his direction and I hate it… It also just feels so lonely with all of us separated from each other…)

(Ahh, I’m really starting to feel pissed off now…)

Look, Takamine! They’re selling plushies of some deep-sea creatures! I have no idea what they’re meant to be!

You love these kinds of soft and shapeless creatures, right!?1 Alrighty then, your dad will buy it for you to commemorate us spending time together in the aquarium today!

You’re not my papa either, ‘kay?

(Actually, right now it does kinda feel like Morisawa-senpai’s a dad awkwardly trying to appease his daugh— his son in order to improve their strained relationship…)

(But it’s such a fitting scenario that I don’t wanna say it out loud…)

(Why’d things get this complicated between us, anyway…?)

(I don’t think any of us even did anything wrong… We were just doing the best we could for the sake of justice, for the sake of everyone.)

(It’s completely unreasonable, and it pisses me off… This is so depressing.)

Oh, look over here! This one looks exactly like you! So cute~!

Do you seriously not have any other way to compliment people…?

And for the record, being compared to some mysterious deep-sea creature doesn’t make me happy at all, ‘kay…?

But I could feel a little happy if you compared it to Shinkai-senpai instead.2

Oh, was that a pun!? Good one, Takamine! You win first prize…☆

Ugh, shut up… Man, it’s been a while since we’ve had a back-and-forth like this.

…Yeah, it really has been so long now. A new year started for us, and a lot happened within the unit and in my personal life…

But the reality of no longer having much of these lively moments hurts me the most out of everything that happened.

Why did it turn out this way between us…?

Ah, I was thinking something similar just now. It’s always so nice to share something in common, no matter what it is, huh?3 That feeling of joy gets cut in half whenever it’s with you, though—

Why did you have to add that!? Then who would you have preferred to be with right now instead?

Nagumo? Sengoku? Or maybe Kanata? Why’re you always so blunt towards just me!? Your dear ol’ grandpa feels so lonely!

Could you at least stick to one role…?

Alright… But, as pathetic as this may sound, I don’t even know what we are to you guys right now anymore.

I thought I could at least become a kaijuu like Mikejima-san for you three to defeat, so that justice would prevail…

But I can’t seem to manage it at all. It’s hard to be a kaijuu.

From what I saw when I was at the studio the other day, I think you managed to perform your kaijuu role pretty well.

Well, not that I know enough about them to be sure of that…

Oh, I appreciate you telling me that!

You’re really good at giving compliments! You’re always so harsh, so a compliment from you makes me extra happy, like I really did do a good job!

What’re you talking about…? Even I give honest compliments sometimes, y’know…?

Fufu, I do have a few things I want to improve on, though. Starting with what my director pointed out: I had an overwhelming presence for a kaijuu.

Ahhh~… Yeah, I always think that about you, too…

Yeah, I’m sorry for being so overbearing. It would be fine for me to perform that way if the kaijuu were the protagonist, but in a tokusatsu show, kaijuu are typically meant to be defeated by heroes.

You aren’t supposed to have such a strong presence on camera, nor make anyone think that you’re anything more than a kaijuu.

If the enemy acts human-like enough to make the audience empathize with them, they’ll feel sorry for them once it’s time for their defeat.

And that would corrupt the heroes’ form of justice.

That would’ve been fine to depict if the whole point was to show the despair of justice, or to make the audience empathize with the loser for a tear-jerking death scene…

However, that wasn’t the case, so you can say that I botched my acting.

After all, I’m in a show that’s the same genre as the exciting and action-oriented Vampire Shogun, which also features simplistic moral lessons.

Ah, I heard of that show… But that’s as far as I know, ‘cause Shinobu-kun brought it up once…

Yeah, I love it, too! It was so unrestrained with how it did things. I would get so excited about what would happen next because you could never know what’s coming.

Although, that freedom is likely because of its enormous amount of sales, the power to manage its cast and resources at will — and most of all, the support from the fans.

Mmm? What do you mean by that…?

You see, there was a period of time when a group of overseas companies called the… something-Concern…? that invested their funds into Vampire Shogun to take control of it.

Their interference almost turned the show’s writing into a more pompous script. But due to the fans’ uproar, the show had a change of plans and went back to its former writing.

They were really close to bending it into a typical historical drama, but the fans didn’t consider Vampire Shogun to be that type of show.

Of course, had they restructured it into something interesting, this would’ve been a win for everyone.

But their take on the show ended up sounding more like an attempt to cater to the public without doing actual research on how to pull that off.

Hmm… Fan uproars are pretty scary, huh… We got flamed in the summer ourselves, so I can’t say that it has nothing to do with me…

That’s true. But in the end, although the season that the overseas group invested in had a horrible reputation—

The video tapes of it are now being sold at premium prices for its unusual take on the show.

It sounds more like it just eventually became infamous for being bad, rather than getting re-evaluated for its writing…

But it doesn’t really matter if the season became a rare commodity only after a decade or two passed…

I don’t care for stuff that has historical value or public appraisal. I don’t think it’s worth bothering with at all; what’s more important than that is—

(Phone starts ringing)

Mm?

Hm? What’s wrong? It’s rare to see you make such a grim face; did a monster invade the streets or something?

You watch way too much tokusatsu, Senpai.

(My phone’s been buzzing for a while now… Ohh, I see — I got a bunch of missed calls from Shinobu-kun and Tetora-kun…)

(What’s wrong…? I got angry at them for basically pushing the role of talking with our seniors on me, so I haven’t been checking HoldHands that much…)

(But there’s so many missed calls here… What’s going on…? There’s no way it’s something as serious as someone dying or an enemy invasion, so what gives…?)

Chapter 6

Yeah, yeah… What? Ahhh~ Okay, I’m sorry about that, but—

(Mm~… I have nothing to do while Takamine talks on the phone. Maybe I should check my work contacts on HoldHands while I have the time.)

(In the end, the showrunners I’m working with ended up arguing over and over about copyright issues and how to negotiate with the actors, which has put everything in a deadlock.)

(So the recording hasn’t made much progress, which gives me a lot of time to spare…)

(But not knowing where this is heading is making me uneasy.)

(No— That’s exactly why we have to make a decision by today.)

(I can’t just avoid thinking about these tiring topics by indulging myself in my comfort zone because I’m too afraid of pain.)

(That was exactly the type of people I felt so frustrated with when I was a junior.)

(I just wanted to change our situation — our very existence, even if it was by pure force. Though… I was too much of a coward to do something as violent as that.)

(But… That’s exactly why this time around—)

(For the sake of the kids who turned me, a cowardly crybaby, into a hero—)

Takamine.

Ah, yes. I’m sorry, the call is over now. …What’s with the serious face?

I’m always serious! And I seriously love you!

Die, please. …I’m well aware how badly you wanna look cool — you’re just a liar as fake as paper-mache.

You don’t have to hide your true form from the people close to you, the same heroes as you — do you?

We’re not in some old tokusatsu show or American comic, so why do you keep hiding your true self?

What, is your family gonna be held hostage by an evil organization if people find out your true identity? Or are you gonna get arrested for being a vigilante or something?

I doubt you’ve done anything illegal in the first place, and we’ve grown strong enough to protect ourselves by now.

……………

Could you quit pretending not to see us for ourselves already? It pisses me off…

You keep treating us like weaklings who need to be protected, just so you can remain as the hero.

T-That isn’t what I—

I just don’t want my place of belonging — the dream I’ve finally achieved — to be smashed into pieces again.

“Again”? I dunno what you’re on about, but you really are looking down on us, aren’t you…?

Sure, we once resigned ourselves to just being pathetic, useless first years to you guys…

But Senpai, did you know?

As the leader of Ryuseitai-N, Tetora-kun did an amazing job protecting and raising ten times the amount of pathetic juniors than you have.

And it’s only been a few months since they joined in the spring, too. There’s so many of them, but they still grew twice as fast.

Yeah… Nagumo’s amazing, and that’s exactly why I chose him to be the next leader.

He’s a bit of a klutz, so he tends to be looked down on — but he’s relentless with his hard work, and knows how to turn all his experiences into his strengths.

That’s how he’s going to build himself thoroughly to grow into a splendid, great man.

He’ll eventually surpass Kiryu and I, and become an ideal figure that everyone admires, and save even more people than we have.

I’ve always dreamed of such a future for him.

……Even though I should’ve been well aware of how cruel reality truly is.

Well, I think Tetora-kun will keep pushing forward no matter what, and work as hard as he can.

So don’t just give up like that; please keep supporting him in every way you can — Senpai.

I’m aware. Our decision to leave Ryuseitai has to do with that, too. There are some things that are hard to do while wearing the mask of justice.

Huh, is that so… And here I thought you were working yourself to the bone ‘cause you wanted that “mask” so badly.

……………

Chapter 7

Tetora-kun’s not the only one… Shinobu-kun became part of the Student Council, and he’s basically the advisor and mediator in Ryuseitai-N now, too.

He’s a master at collecting info and smoothing out issues between people. It feels like his hidden talents finally got a chance to bloom.

His true powers burst forth right when the going got tough. Sounds just like a hero, right?

I can’t speak for the Student Council, but Ryuseitai-N would’ve tripped over its own feet and disintegrated way earlier if he wasn’t around.

And to add the cherry on top, he’s even getting a lot of recognition as an individual, too.

He’s such a shy kid, but he still managed to establish a place for himself as a one-of-a-kind ninja idol.

He could easily become a total laughing stock if he messes up in his role, y’know…?

Despite all that, he never runs away. And we’re talking about someone who used to be as much of a scaredy cat as I am.

But just look at him now; he grew so strong in a blink of an eye.

Thanks to the past year he spent with you two seniors, he got to stack up tons of experience and build so much courage in himself, and nothing bended his love for his interests no matter what he’s gone through.

Now he’s doing his best to give hopes and dreams to others with his tiny little hands, hoping that others can share the same interests as him.

I’m sure that’s what he’s wanted to do all along — So I refuse to let anything stop him from achieving his dreams, be it Crazy:B, Ryuseitai-N, or Ryuseitai-M.

But he’s a kind, big-hearted kid, though, so I’m sure he’d just laugh off his troubles as another experience to learn from.

…Yeah. That’s the kind of kid he is — He’s the strongest one out of all of us.

He’s our role model and our guide. He’s much more suited for that job than Kanata and I.

Please say all of that to him instead…

I’m the worst out of the flock, so I guess that’s why you kept supporting me the most, like during Repayment Festival—4

But Shinobu-kun and Tetora-kun both probably went through a similar life to mine; I’m sure they barely got any praise from anyone in the past.

They’re in desperate need of validation and approval, y’know?

I’m the same as them — I was a “pathetic kid,” so I know that they must be feeling that way.

Oh, really…? But I was trying my best to hug, pat and praise them for every single thing they do.

You’re awful at it… Like, you do that to basically everyone in the same fashion, so it’s hard to tell if that’s real praise or not—

It always felt like you were just trying to praise us with something, anything, like giving candy to a kid, and it really ticked me off.

I see… This is quite difficult for me. I’m not that good at communicating with people, to be honest.

I was living a very lonely youth before I met you guys.

I was also a sickly child, and couldn’t play outside with other kids very often.

Hmmm… So that hot-blooded heroic stuff you do really was an act all along, huh… Well, I figured it was…

It felt so fake to see you act that way. Like, I’d keep thinking there’s no way a person like this actually exists in real life. You always acted as if a camera was recording you—

Yeah, it’s kind of embarrassing… But in that sense, it’s incredible how you can act so naturally all the time.

You say that like it’s a good thing… I just find acting a pain to do… There was nothing I wanted so badly that I’d go through the effort of doing that.

But things are different now. I have something I want — something I wanna get no matter what it takes.

Hm? What would that be? Could it be my love or something!?

You’d push that on me even if I said I didn’t want it, wouldn’t you?

Hm? Is that Kanata?

It sure is… He was called over by a couple staff members for some business in the aquarium just now — I wonder what happened…?

…I don’t really know much about Kanatee… What sort of character is it meant to be?

Mmm~… It was basically just Shinkai-senpai at first, but…

He wanted to make it go viral, so after brainstorming a bunch of ideas, it kinda turned into this cringey mess…

Huh, I see. I think it’s cute, though.

I think so, too. We agree for once, huh, Senpai?

If you just had Shinkai-senpai’s voice to go off of, you might forget that he’s actually a pretty big guy who packs a punch.

A big guy, huh? That’s true, but his most extraordinary trait is his ability to downplay his formidable appearance so that no one’s afraid of him.

I’d say he’s like the exact opposite of a kaijuu.

Well, that’s ‘cause there’s no way anyone would be scared of the ocean, unless there was a raging storm going on.

Wha—!? W-What’s happening? That was a scream just now… right?

Huh? What’s he talking about…?

Dunno…

Ah, no wait— I get it now.

What’s this all about?

As always, you’re so bad at figuring things out. Lemme put it in other words—

—It’s kinda messy, but… To put it simply, it’s our turn to shine, Senpai.

Chapter 8

Location: Comet Show Stage

At the same time, on the stage within the aquarium…

—Aight! We managed to finish setting up everythin’ for the live show. I’m amazed we got everythin’ decently sorted out on such short notice.

It’s all thanks to Anzu-dono’s cooperation! She’s excellent at stage preparation for concerts that happen on the spur of the moment.

Everyone from Ryuseitai-N also came over to assist us the best they can, saying that they wanted to help give them a final farewell.

I’m real grateful to everyone. We’re named after the shooting stars who grant people’s wishes, but we keep having our wishes granted by others instead.6

You should think in the reverse, Tetora-kun!

We poured all our efforts into granting people’s wishes — and for that, they’re helping us achieve ours.

All we should do now is be grateful for such a token of kindness.

Ossu, you got it. All for one, and one for all—

Were we able to become the Ryuseitai our seniors hoped for in the nick of time…?

(waves) heeey, you twooo~♪ i have made the [public announcement] as you told me to. was it good enough?

Yup! We could hear it from over here too. I’m real sorry we made you do errands for us, Senpai.

no need to apologize. this is my [aquarium] after all, and i cannot let someone else make the announcement without my [permission]~ it only [makes sense] that i am the one who does it, right?

i [changed] it up a bit to sound a little more like something i would say… was it alright, shinobu?

Why, of course it was! The script I gave you was simply for reference!

Your voice is so calming to hear, I couldn’t help but feel wrapped in comfort and awe~! My, I wish we had asked you for help in the broadcast committee back when you were still in school~♪

you are going too far with those praises~ i am often [scolded] for being hard to understand, you know?

Heheh, that’s true. Sometimes I find myself spacing out when you’re talking, and I have to reaaally focus to actually get what you’re saying.

Mhm, mhm! Surprisingly, you tend to speak in a slightly incomprehensible manner, Shinkai-dono.

ehe! that is because i was once a [god]~♪

the more complicated words you speak, and the more convoluted they are, the more you sound like you are saying something incredible~

people will try their best to [over-interpret] what i am saying, you see?

Mm… I dunno what you mean, but that’s another reason why I think Shinkai-senpai and Morisawa-senpai make a good combination.

‘Cuz on the other hand, Morisawa-senpai only talks about things in a super simple and clear way.

fufu. though that comes with him being very [argumentative]~ much, much more than i could be.

that is exactly why it is so hard to [win] an [argument] against him. once he has set his mind on something, he will refuse to [budge].

I don’t plan on arguing with him, so it’s fine. I don’t get anything outta doing that, anyway…

I think there was a time when heroes fighting among each other was a whole thing in movies and stuff, but I don’t really like that kinda stuff.

Maybe my mindset is just old-fashioned and unrealistic, though.

But I dunno, I just love the good ol’-fashioned shows with simplistic moral lessons, the kinds where the heroes all band together and fight evil in the most cliche way ever.

What’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong, and that’s exactly why justice will always prevail against evil. And the reason for that is ‘cuz everyone hopes to live their life in the most righteous way possible.

Our society is moved by people’s emotions, so justice will always be stronger than evil.

If everyone does their best to live with a proper mindset and achieve their own success—

Then someday, those victories will pile up enough to eradicate evil from this world. That’s how we can achieve world peace.

But I know this is such an idealistic view of things that not even the most child-friendly tokusatsu shows depict it anymore.

—is that your form of [justice], tetora?

I’m still thinkin’ on it. I’m only a greenhorn, so I’m still inexperienced and all.

I’m in no position where I have to rush myself to figure things out and get to work.

‘Course, I am aware that we can’t just stand around and do nothing right now, either…

But I know how I am — I just panic and mess up the moment I rush myself. I’m painfully aware of that part’a me by now.

So I’ll just steadily work hard to the best of my ability ‘til the day I become strong enough to grasp my own justice — my own correct answer, within my own two hands.

I’ll keep doing that, even after you two leave Ryuseitai.

Ah, about that… I believe that our seniors are possibly—

—oh! anzu-san sent me a [message]. chiaki and midori should be [here] soon.

Ahaha, I feel regretful for making Anzu-dono work on our behalf on her day off.

That’s why we’ve gotta make sure to entertain everyone and leave ‘em with fun memories. I’m gonna work hard to accomplish that, ossu!

yes. for this is our [final stage] as the five of us together—

so let’s carry out our performance with a [smile] on our faces. this may be where it all comes to an [end], but we’ll make sure that everyone thinks of it as a [happy ending].

Chapter 9

Location: Aoumi Aquarium (Main Exhibit)

—So in other words…

The other three plan to make a final parting memory with the five of us all together as Ryuseitai?

And that’s why they asked for help from Anzu and your juniors in Yumenosaki with setting up the stage?

Yeah, I guess… I haven’t been touching HoldHands up until now, but that sounds like what they were telling me in their messages.

Tetora-kun even sent me a message that said, “let’s do our best together! (^_^)v”, but it just sounds like he’s trying so hard to keep a positive attitude that it hurts to see… I should’ve never checked my phone, this is so depressing…

Hmm… So that’s why they were so late for our meet up in the aquarium, huh?

They were running around making negotiations with various people, and getting the word out for the live show — all while preparing the materials and tools needed for the stage.

It all makes sense now! I feel a weight off my back with that mystery solved.

What is there to even feel relieved over…? Seriously, what the hell is “final parting memory” even supposed to mean…?

Wasn’t Repayment Festival from last year enough for that?

Maybe this means that the festival wasn’t enough for them.

We weren’t the only ones performing in Repayment Festival, after all.

They probably wanted to have a final performance that was just the five of us as Ryuseitai.

It feels like a funeral, though… I know I’m not one to talk, but it genuinely sounds so depressing and miserable to me…

Actually, doesn’t this mean that they gave up trying to fight back, and decided to accept the reality of our situation?

They’re planning to follow the agency’s orders, and split up Ryuseitai once and for all—

And this final live show feels like something to “commemorate the parting of our unit”.

I thought they were busy figuring out a way to get us out of this mess, but all along they already accepted their fate and were just thinking of how to call it quits…

Yeah… Though putting it that way makes them sound bad.

Nagumo is still the leader of a large group of members right now.

He wouldn’t choose to be selfish and throw the whole unit into danger by going against the agency.

He’s an honest, good kid, after all. And so is Sengoku.

Their good-hearted nature is exactly why they tried their best to search for a future where everyone in the unit is happy — and that includes us graduates.

I think it’s admirable of them. And I choose to respect their decision.

Okay, but that doesn’t change the fact that it just means we basically lost the battle… I can’t properly express myself, but it just frustrates me somehow.

You see, that’s where Nagumo decided to be mature and hold back his frustration. He really didn’t have to take after me when it comes to those things, though.

It’s more like he’s always been that kinda guy.

He’s apparently been raised with an athlete’s kind of lifestyle, so I bet it stresses him out a lot to disobey his superiors.

Not to mention, he’s been in pretty low spirits during his time working with Ryuseitai-N. It’s not that he’s lost all heart—

But comparing our current era to last year, when you seniors were around, makes him so disappointed in himself.

He’s also suffering from that bitter time when we got torn to shreds for taking the challenge against Crazy:B7 without thinking it through.

On top of that, we had a whole bunch of newbies back in spring, but they kept dropping out one after the other… ‘Cause they kept thinking the unit’s different from what they expected.

……………

We don’t have as many drop-outs now, and the ones we have left are the sorta motivated, good-hearted kids who wanna keep following after Tetora-kun.

And after all that effort, we now even have to cut ties with those good kids too just ‘cause of the agency’s orders—

And to make matters even worse, you guys declared a leave from Ryuseitai.

……………

Tetora-kun must feel so pathetic and frustrated with himself.

He’s questioning if he’s ever actually been suited to be a leader in the first place — And when you lay out all that he’s done so far as one, it’s only natural he’d start doubting himself.

Nagumo worked as hard as he could, didn’t he?

The only people who’d give you a gold star just for working hard are primary school teachers and you guys.

The public is much more fair and a lot more strict. I mean, even ES is a corporation with the goal to make profit at the end of the day. You gotta show real results or you’re fired.

I…

I never, ever thought things would turn out this way. I didn’t give it enough thought, and ended up making you all suffer unnecessarily.

Yeah, just like a kaijuu would.

But you wouldn’t have known better, really… After all, no one ever imagined that something as bizarre as ES was gonna emerge from the ground until after our school year was completely over.

It’s like a natural disaster — nobody could’ve predicted it. No one’s at fault here.

That’s true… Tenshouin made ES — a paradise for idols — in order to achieve his dreams. I’m sure he didn’t do it to hurt anyone.

But unfortunately, if a humongous object like ES were to move even a small step, there would inevitably be casualties along the way.

So that’s how it works… …I suppose I could now perfect my kaijuu act with this realization.

I don’t think that role fits you at all, though.

—You’re much more suited to be this, aren’t you?

Hmm, so… the outfits Anzu handed to us earlier were for the live show?

Wow, she managed to stitch them up in such a short amount of time. I feel like she’s becoming superhuman at this point.

Everyone’s been getting better and stronger, you’ve just been pretending not to see it.

…But there’s apparently an actual reason why she managed to finish these so quickly.

What do you mean by that?

Dunno… She barely talks, even on HoldHands, so…

Anyway, I think we should change now before we head over to the live show.

Judging from the announcement earlier, they’re likely making the stage into a hero show—

It would ruin the vibe if we rushed in to save everyone in our regular civilian clothes.

That’s true! Alright, let’s get to it then.

Oh! How convenient! The toilet’s right in front of us!

Okay, feel free to change first.

Hm? We aren’t changing together? We’d get the job done faster that way, though! C’mon, all the kiddos are waiting for our rescue!

I’m pretty sure the audience is confused about why there’s suddenly a performance happening, and for some reason, I can’t stomach the idea of being in a tight space with you…

You can’t stomach the idea!? Why do you say that, Takamine!? I’m not planning on doing anything strange! I promise!

Why do I get the feeling you’ll break your promise in an instant…?

Let’s not complicate this and just change after each other, ‘kay? We’ll be failures as heroes if we don’t make it on time for an important moment.

True… But am I really going as Red again? I’ve been telling all of you over and over again that Nagumo’s the current leader of Ryuseitai…

Mmm~… I think it’s only you tokusatsu fans who waste your time caring about that kind of thing…

Every last one of you are so insistent on making everything harder on yourselves with this pointless stuff — It’s all so dumb.

……?

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Translation Notes

1. ↑ Chiaki is referring to yuruchara, Midori’s favorite kind of mascots, that tend to have sloppy-looking designs.
2. ↑ Kanata’s last name shinkai literally means “deep sea”.
3. ↑ “I’m so happy/It’s so nice to share something in common” is a typical phrase Chiaki says to others.
4. ↑ Referring to Climax, Ryuseitai's Repayment Festival (graduation) story.
5. ↑ Kanatee (Kanata + Manatee pun) is Aoumi Aquarium’s mascot, and you can see how it looks in this CG and in Kanata’s birthday cake.
6. ↑ The ryusei in Ryuseitai lit. means shooting star/meteor. The unit name means “shooting star/meteor squad”.
7. ↑ Referring to what happened in the ES!! main story. TL;DR: Rinne falsely publicly accuses Ryuseitai of being fake hypocritical heroes, which forced Ryuseitai to fight against Crazy:B in the Idol Royale.