#it's 4 in the am and idk why i'm doing this instead of sleeping lmaooaooaoaoaoa

[deus-ex-mona]

LIPxLIP and the Filming of the New Year’s Special Programme: Chapter 5

the amazing race begins

previous part (chapter 4)

next part (chapter 6)

Host: By a strange coincidence, the two of them will have to face off against each other in this event… namely, a “Scavenger Hunt”!

Yujiro: (I definitely… won’t lose to him…!)

Yujiro peeked at Aizo, only to see a smug smile on his face, as though he had been thinking that very same thought as well.

Aizo: …

Yujiro: (What’s with that look on his face…?! Is he trying to tell me that he has the upper hand, just because we’ll be on the run for this scavenger hunt?)

Yujiro: (I don’t know where he found that baseless confidence of his, but I’ll smash it to bits…!)

Host: Now, let’s get to the rules of the Scavenger Hunt. First off, you guys will set off from this studio, and run along a designated route.

Host: The rest of the rules are super simple.

Host: Along the route, there will be desks with pieces of paper placed atop them, and you two will be asked to pick one of the papers and open them to reveal…

Host: The item that you will need to find. Once you’ve brought your found item back to the desk, you will be allowed to resume running along the route.

Host: Are you guys readyyy?

Aizo: Yup! I’m ready to go whenever!

Yujiro: I’m all set! I’ll do my best to win this!

Yujiro: Well, it’ll still be a victory for LIPxLIP no matter which one of us wins, though.

Aizo: Yeah. Let’s take care to not help each other out along the way.

Amidst the excited chatter from the others at the venue, the two of them took their places at the starting line.

Host: Let’s get right to the Scavenger Hunt! On your marks, get set, start!

Aizo: (It’s really hard to run in this hakama… It’s rather hot too…)

Aizo: (But, considering the distance, I should be able to reach the goal without losing this pace…)

Aizo: (...Ah! Here comes our first item.)

Aizo stopped in front of the desk at the first checkpoint.

Aizo: (As for… Yujiro…)

Aizo looked behind him to see Yujiro trailing behind at a surprisingly short distance away.

Aizo: (Is he running faster than usual because we’re being filmed without any spare time to provide service to the viewers that we could’ve done if we had run at a leisurely pace instead…? But anyways.)

Aizo: I’ll pick the paper on the left!

Such were the words that Aizo had spoken towards the camera as he opened the paper. The first item he was set to retrieve, as written in the paper, was—

Aizo: (...Huh? “Snow”?)

Aizo: (Wait… Where the hell can I even find snow in Tokyo on a bright and sunny day like this?!)

As Aizo stressed over his designated item, Yujiro caught up to him and looked at his own paper.

Yujiro: Written in here is… “mandarin oranges”. There’s a greengrocer’s a little further back, right?

Yujiro: Ah, there’s also a supermarket straight ahead.

Aizo: (Dammit… The paper I picked has put me at a complete disadvantage!)

Yujiro: What did you get, Aizo?

Aizo: …“Snow”.

Yujiro: Hmm… It’s too bad, but it sure looks like I’m going to win this match, doesn’t it?

Just as Yujiro turned to head for the supermarket—

Yujiro: …Ah, but… You don’t have to use real snow or anything, do you?

Aizo: Huh?

Yujiro: Back when we worked at the kindergarten for a day, I found myself thinking that kids are able to use all kinds of things to represent snow, or something.

Aizo: Hey… Just what do you mean—

Aizo trailed off when he spotted a handmade poster, which looked to have been illustrated by a child, pasted onto a nearby notice board. The words “Snow Festival” were written on the poster, along with a drawing of a snowman, with bits of cotton stuck all over it in place of actual snow.

Aizo: (I see… So that’s what he meant!)

Aizo: Yujiro, you idiot. Just why are you giving me hints, even though I’m your rival?

Yujiro: Things wouldn’t be as interesting if there’s too much of a distance between us, no?

Host: Oh my! It looks like the friendship between the two of LIPxLIP has helped them to overcome this challenge in no time flat!

The real-time relaying of the audio from the studio allowed Aizo and Yujiro to hear the words of the host.

Yujiro: …“Friendship”?

Aizo: That’s what he said.

Muttering lowly so as to not have their words be amplified by the microphone, Aizo and Yujiro’s eyes met in a fierce glare, their gazes burning with a competitive spark—