Saimon: So what you're saying is that the rate at which metal cells replace normal cells varies from person to person; so theoretically, both an indivdual's constitution and prolonged metal use are both risk factors. Is that correct?
Dongha: Correct. However, despite the fact that the two of you have been performing for many years at a high level as phantom rappers, when one takes your time as XXXX into account, you have shown not yet shown any signs of metal erosion.
Saimon: ...
Yohei: You tryin' to say we're running up against our limit?
Dongha: On the contrary.
Saimon and Yohei: ...!
Chungsung: It seems that there may be something, beyond simple natural constitution, that the two of you possess that prevents metal erosion from encroaching.
Saimon: And you think that's what's key to developing this new drug? Am I understanding you?
Chungsung: That is correct.
Saimon: I believe that's a method that's also used when developing vaccines for infectious diseases; researchers can prevent the onset of a disease by studying people who have a natural resistance to the illness.
Chungsung: Exactly that.
Dongha: Of course, we are not asking for charity. This deal will benefit both parties.
Yohei: "Deal"?
Dongha: In exchange for your participation as a collaborator, you will receive ongoing medical support courtesy of the Anti-Metalation System. And, of course, once the drug has been developed, you will receive utmost priority in receiving it.
Yohei: Hah! What kind of deal is that? You're just selling the solution to a problem you caused.
Chungsung: That is not our intention--
Yohei: What kind of nads do you have to waltz in and ask something like that? You're talking about things you don't understand. Oi! Professor, you oughta say something too. We know the risk we're taking; we made our choice. We don't need some fresh-faced newbies showing up to tell us how we ought to live!
Saimon: ... [deep breath]
Yohei: ... Saimon?
Saimon: Can you tell me one thing, Yeon Dongha-kun? What does music mean to you?
Dongha: --!
Saimon: I want you to tell me in your own words, speaking for yourself-- not as a member of the conglomerate, nor on behalf of the research institute.
Dongha: ...!
Chungsung: Bocchama?
[sfx: Chungsung about to step forward, Dongha stopping him]
Dongha: It's fine. ... What music is to me, is... [sigh] When I'm performing music as AMPRULE, as lil EMPERA, that's when I become free.
Yohei: Hm? Wasn't your motivation for participating in the Paradox Live getting revenge on 48, your brother?
Dongha: Naturally. I want to take him on the same stage, with the same Phantom Lives, and defeat him. I will prove my worth with my own power. I haven't forgotten my original purpose. But the moment that I stood on the stage at the Paradox Live, I realized that wasn't all it was. The sense of the entire audience; the fever pitch of vibes; before I knew it, there was nothing else. With every word, for some reason, I felt a strange kind of warmth. I felt something pleasant, that almost felt like a moment of connection. Standing there, I was the one and only person who existed. But it wasn't lonely at all. I felt it in my heart. Even now, at this moment, I feel we are connected by that music.
Saimon: ...!
Dongha: That echoing sound, the voice of my very soul, is greater than me. Anger, hate, anxiety, fear-- it dwarfs all of it. I'm confident that I can soar higher. No matter what thoughts I have or what may tie me down, I won't be stopped. I'll bear it all on my shoulders and go my own way. I'll hold my head high and be proud. I won't let anyone get in my way. So to me, music is the wings on which I will rise to amazing heights.
Saimon: ...
Yohei: You've really...
[sfx: door slamming open, bell ringing, Ryu's running footsteps and rustling bags]
Ryu: I'M HOOOOOOOOOOME! KABOOM! DUN-DA-DA-DUN-DUN-DUN, IT'S TIME FOR RYU-KUN!
[sfx: rustling bags]
Shiki: We bought everything you asked for.
Dongha: --!
Yohei: ... tch. Man, what a bad time to come back.
Ryu: Eh? What's this? What's thissy-thissy-thissy-thissy-this-this-this? There's an itty-bitty mister mushroom growing on the counter!!!
Dongha: ...? "Mushroom"?
Shiki: Oh, I'm sorry... Ryu-kun calls Hajun-san from BAE "Mushroom", and since you're his little brother...
Dongha: Hah?
Shiki: I-I'm sorry...! Um... well...
[sfx: Ryu stomping his way over]
Ryu: Sniffsniffsniffsniffsniffsniffsniff...
Dongha: --! Y-you're too close!!
[sfx: Ryu humming and sniffing, Dongha wishing that Ryu understood the concep of personal space]
Dongha: W-what are you doing!? You're shivering all of a sudden! Get away from me!!
Ryu: ... hmm? You hate being compared so much.
Dongha: --!?
Ryu: But you also love it. But you hate it? It's such a mess, I don't know what to make of it.
Dongha: -- you--!
[sfx: footsteps]
Ryu: And this person over here...
Chungsung: ... yes?
Ryu: Ah... this one is even messier. "The replacement"? What does that mean? "Pain is pleasure"?
Chungsung: ...! What... on earth do you mean?
Shiki: I'm so sorry! Ryu-kun just, he gets like this sometimes...! He doesn't mean any harm! Ah... Ryu-kun! Ryu-kun!!
Ryu: Hm? What's wrong, Shikki?
Shiki: Um... ah, well...
[sfx: Kurobuchi Maou DX meowing, collar bell ringing]
Ryu: Ah!! Kurobuchichi! You came so Ryu-kun could pick you up!!
[sfx: Kurobuchi meowing, bell ringing as Ryu picks him up]
Ryu: Ohohoh! Good kittykittykitty!
[sfx: Kurobuchi mrowing contentedly]
Dongha: What happened just now...?
Chungsung: He certainly seems to be... a very strange individual, doesn't he?
Yohei: Eh, don't worry about it. Soon as he says it he don't even remember what he just said. Sorry our talk got cut short.
Chungsung: By no means. I hope that we were able to fully convey our intentions to you.
Ryu: Good kitty! Good kitties get a lickylicky as a reward!
Shiki: Ryu-kun, you can't, you're not supposed to play with Kurobuchi while we have customers in the store.
[sfx: Footsteps]
Ryu: Hey hey hey hey hey, Mister Mini-Mushroom, you wanna do this and that and the other thing with Kurobuchi?
Dongha: ... the cat?
Ryu: He's Kurobuchi Maou DX!! He's the Ultra Super Maximum cutest, right!?
Dongha: ... "Kurobuchi Maou DX"? That's rather a strange name, isn't it?
Ryu: Here! A lickylicky.
[sfx: Ryu foisting a squeeze-tube cat treat into Dongha's hands]
Dongha: A "lickylicky"?
Shiki: It's a cat treat. Um, would you like to give it to him?
Dongha: ... hah!? Why would I want to do that?! I- I don't have the time to go around feeding and playing with cats.
Shiki: Ah, I, I see, I'm sorry...
Dongha: ...!
Chungsung: Bocchama, it is a very kind offer; why not do it when you are given the chance? Every experience is a valuable one.
Dongha: ... I get it, already! Here. Eat it, cat.
[sfx: Kurobuchi's bell ringing as he rears back and hisses at Dongha]
Dongha: --!
Shiki: Huh...? It's not like Kurobuchi to dislike new people...
Ryu: Bzzt, Mister Mini-Mushroom, looks like Kurobuchi went HISSSS at you!
Dongha: --gckt! Stop laughing! What does it matter if one cat doesn't like me!?
Ryu: He's not just "a cat", he's Kurobuchichi, and he doesn't like you 'cause you're being mean to him!
Dongha: -!!
Shiki: Maybe playing with toys will help. I'll go get his favorite toy for you.
[sfx: Shiki walking away, Kurobuchi meowing extremely unimpressedly]
Dongha: ...!

[sfx: Kurobucchi meowing]
Chungsung: Well then. Please excuse us. Regarding the matter we discussed earlier...?
Saimon: Yes. We'll think about it.
Dongha: I will seek your answer after our battle. Until then, however...
Yohei: Hah. We're enemies?
Dongha: Hmph. Precisely.
[sfx: Bell ringing, Kurobuchi meows]
Ryu: Hehehe. Kurobuchichi says "let's play again sometime"!
Dongha: I wasn't the one who was playing with it! And besides that, how on earth do you know what that cat is thinking?
Ryu: Fufufu! Ryu-kun understands everything, from space mumbo-jumbo to kitty language! What do you think of that? Isn't he great? Isn't he amazing? Isn't he the cleverest person ever!? A-HEM?
Dongha: What a weirdo...
Shiki: Um, you are welcome to come and visit again if you'd like.
Dongha: Unlike you, I am not overburdened with free time. However...
[sfx: Kurobuchi mrow]
Dongha: Next time I come... hmph. You will submit to my will, cat. Prepare yourself for that.
[sfx: Kurobuchi hissing]
Shiki: Kurobuchi!?
Chungsung: Well, with that.
[sfx: Door opening, bell ringing]
Dongha: We will meet again on-stage.
[sfx: footsteps, door closing, bell ringing]

[sfx: Cleaning, glass being set down]
Yohei: Hey. So, about today...
Saimon: Yes.
Yohei: Do you buy into his story?
[sfx: Cleaning, glass being set down]
Saimon: I don't think it was a bad conversation.
Yohei: Yeah.
[sfx: Yohei lighting up a cigarette and taking a drag]
Yohei: [sighs] Seriously... cut right to the heart of it, huh? I can't help but think about how long you and I have been doing this. We really might run up against the limit someday. I've just been refusing to acknowledge that as a possibility up until now.
[sfx: glass being set down]
Saimon: I suppose that's true.
Yohei: Do you really think we got something about us, like what they were talking about?
Saimon: I wonder. Every person reacts to the metal differently, and even the speed and length of the onset of the trap reaction varies between people as well; it may well just be a coincidence.
Yohei: Sure could.
Saimon: We'll have to think this matter over thoroughly before we come to a conclusion.
Yohei: Yeah. ... but even if we do say yes, explaining it to Shiki and Ryu is gonna be a nightmare. Ugh, I don't even want to think about how we'd try and explain it to that alien.
Saimon: Ryu... has his past as an experimental subject, so it is a problem that would require a very delicate hand, isn't it? We'll need to be careful not to say too much.
Yohei: It'd be a real pain in the ass if he ran away from home again.
Saimon: [chuckling] It would, wouldn't it?
Yohei: Even with all that said, though. [swirling drink] I wouldn't have expected that young master to be thinking about things like that.
Simon: Connecting through music... I would never have thought he had the same philosophy as us.
Yohei: And here I was thinking he was just some pretentious little shit. Hah! But he had some pretty decent points to make. [setting glass down] So now I've got a lot more to think about now, and I haven't even finished the song for the battle yet.
[sfx: footsteps]
Saimon: [chuckles] Did his passionate words light a fire underneath you?
Yohei: Well, at least until this battle is over, we're still enemies, ain't we?
[sfx: Yohei playing the piano line from BLUE FLAME]
Saimon: ...

[flashback begins]

Tsubaki: Naoakira-san.
Saimon: What is it?
Tsubaki: Can I make one more selfish request?
Saimon: Yes, of course.
Tsubaki: You promise you won't get mad?
Saimon: I won't get mad.
Tsubaki: So... I have something I'd like to ask of you for when that time comes.
Saimon: ...
Tsubaki: I'm already losing feeling in my fingertips.
Saimon: ...
Tsubaki: I'm not scared to die. But... ... I... I want to go as myself. With the dream that the three of us had -- you and me and Yohei-kun. What it was that I wanted, and what I risked my life for... before I forget any of it...
Saimon: [crying]
Tsubaki: So that's why...
Saimon: I can't. I can't do that...
Tsubaki: Please!
[sfx: Tsubaki embracing Saimon]
Tsubaki: I know I'm asking for the impossible. I know that, that if I make you do this, you're going to carry those scars with you for the rest of your life, that it's a wound you'll never be able to share with anyone, and that will never be fully healed. But even so... even so...! [shuddering] You're the only one that I can possibly ask to do this.
Saimon: [crying]
Tsubaki: Please, Naoakira-san. I want stay your wife while I'm still alive.
Saimon: [crying] Tsubaki...
Tsubaki: I have one last selfish request. I want the last thing I hear in this world to be the sound of you calling out to me.

[Flashback ends]

Saimon: Tsubaki...
[sfx: Yohei playing the piano line from BLUE FLAME fades back in]
Saimon: Connecting people through music... I'm sure that someday...

[sfx: tea being poured, keyboard typing]
Chungsung: Bocchama? May I suggest going to bed?
Dongha: Once I'm finished with this task.
[sfx: keyboard continues, cup being put down]
Chungsung: As it is late, I have prepared you a chai with ample milk and spices to warm the body.
Dongha: Hmm. [stirring, taking a sip] ... The aroma is very stimulating, but it has an understated taste. The sweetness isn't offensive, either.
Chungsung: Thank you very much for your feedback.
[sfx: Dongha taking another sip, setting the cup down]
Dongha: Do you think those individuals we spoke to this afternoon will agree?
Chungsung: I do. I believe they will give us a favorable response.
Dongha: I see. ... ... that was the first time I had ever spoken about that in front of other people.
Chungsung: Hm? But I do believe it was those words that touched their hearts, yes?
Dongha: Hm. Then I suppose the abject humiliation was worth it.
Chungsung: Humiliation? Bocchama, I believe that honest words and a passionate heart have the power to move people far greater than that of any material price.
Dongha: ...
Chungsung: Your actions today were most impressive, bocchama.
Dongha: ... ... well, naturally I would be able to do that kind of thing. After all, I will be the one following in my father's footsteps and taking over the Yeon conglomerate in future.
Chungsung: [chuckles] I expect nothing less of Yeon Dongha-sama. ... ah.
Dongha: ... hm? What is that?
Chungsung: ... What is what?
Dongha: That thing poking out of your pocket. Is that a photo?
Chungsung: ...! That is...!
Dongha: Show it to me.
Chungsung: That is a private possession, therefore...
Dongha: You're acting suspicious. Show it to me! You're trying to hide something from your master!
Chungsung: ... well, it's...
Dongha: ...!! What is this!?
Chungsung: It is a picture of you, Dongha-sama, having fun playing with Kurobuchi Maou DX-sama, even though you were saying that you did not want to.
[sfx: smoke pouring out of Dongha's ears]
Chungsung: [growing more breathless] I was struck by the cuteness of the scene, and so I took photos, and I had prints made of my favorite photo so that I would have it with me always, and--
Dongha: [struggling to wrestle the photo away from Chungsung] Stop fucking around!! To have something like that made...! Goddammit!! Why can't I tear it!?
Chungsung: Well, you see, I had it laminated in case it ever got wet--
Dongha: Destroy it immediately! And delete all of the other photos, too!!
Chungsung: But I can't, that that would be a terrible loss of--
Dongha: That's an order! Don't tell me you "can't"!
[sfx: Dongha striking Chungsung]
Dongha: Stay on your knees until I'm through disciplining you with this whip, Chungsung!!
Chungsung: I beg that you see fit to forgive my overwhelming love of Bocchama--
Dongha: Silence!!
Chungsung: Ah~! ♥
[sfx: Chungsung toppling over, the sound of many, many photos flying everywhere]
Dongha: --!! What... what is...!? ARE THESE ALL PHOTOS OF ME!?
Chungsung: [getting up] M-my sincerest apologies, but I could not choose only one photo of my beloved bocchama, so--
Dongha: Stop making excuses!!
[sfx: Chungsung being whipped]
Chungsung: Ah~! Bocchamaaa~! ♥