Death Prophecy

(Holding back tears) G-Gghk! Don’t you ever forget! You’re idols… that came out from under ol’ Kodama’s wing…!

I’ll be there at every concert…! Show me what it means to live as idols…

Thank you for all your help, guards~!

Kodamacchi sure did cry his eyes out~

Look, the island’s fading away~ So weird.

I still can’t believe we’re really on parole…

Chief, Nayuki. You too, Kinari, Chihiro, Tao, Kuguri.

I have something I want to tell you all.

What’s up~? You got into leader-mode really quick, Raitin!

Yeah. I decided on a name for our unit, and wanted to share it with you.

Huh? Already?! That was quick!

Life is short, and my motto is to think fast.

A unit name… So we’re really going through with this whole idol thing, huh…

How does “Ev3ns” sound, Chief?

“Ev3ns”…

I may be the leader, but all the members are on equal footing.

We’re “even”. That’s why I chose it.

! That’s a great name, it’s so meaningful!

“Even,” he said. What a hypocrite.

…?!

(Nayuki-kun mumbled something a little unsettling…)

That’s good. I’m glad to hear you like it. What do the rest of you think?

It’s pretty good!

Raitin’s naming style is so peak~

Peak…?

I don’t see anything wrong with it either.

Inputting new unit name.

Well… I suppose I’ll play along with at least the name for now.

Then, it’s settled! Let’s bring in the hype, Ev3ns!

Starting a new group with idols from prison… That’s a pretty fresh concept!

(You can say that again…)

Not just that, but this ocean’s full of man-eating sharks. So wouldn’t “Sam3ns”¹ be a better pick? Juuuust a thought.

Sharks are terrifying… I definitely don’t want to find myself falling down there.

Ah…!

(The wind blew the hat Kafka gave me into the water!)

Chill, Chiefy~! It’s good that it was just your hat that ended up down there.

Hang tight for a moment, I’ll go get it.

Eh…?!

The hell?! Wh-What are you doing, Raito-san?!

I’ve got your hat! I’ll bring it over now!

H-Hang on a second, Raito-san! We were just talking about how there were man-eating sharks in the water!

He… Not again!

There are no records of shark sightings in this body of water.

Probability of guards using this notion as a method of intimidation: 91.7%

Oh, really? I-It’s still pretty dangerous though.

That’s exactly what’s wrong with him… It doesn’t matter if there’s sharks or not, he still…

Nayuki-kun…? Is something wrong?

We’ll regret choosing a guy like him. He doesn’t value his life and is just about ready to die…

He’s going to end up causing trouble.

Huh…? What do you mean by that?

Exactly what I said. He doesn’t care about dying. The way he lives is all fake. And eventually, he’ll die a fake.

It would’ve been better for him to stay locked up until he died.

I’m going to stop the ferry…

(Things seem… kinda tense between the siblings, don’t they… It might be good to ask Raito-san about it when he gets back.)

Whew. Here’s your hat, Chief. It got a bit wet, though.

Raitin, you’ve got some demonic willpower.

Jumping right into the water like that, Taotao looked like he was gonna start bawling~

Huh?! No, I was just… glad you’re okay.

Ahaha! Did I worry you? Sorry about that.

Um, Raito-san, why don’t you get changed for now? There’s towels in the cabin over here!

It’s been a while since I last took off my prisoner’s uniform. It feels surprisingly nice. This is a new experience.

Umm… Raito-san. I appreciate that you went and got my hat back for me… but why did you jump in the water knowing there could’ve been man-eating sharks in it?

Hm? Oh, because I didn’t really see a problem with it.

You and Nayuki-kun are brothers, right? Earlier… he got mad at you.

He said that you didn’t really value your life and you’re just about ready to die.

Oh, is that what Nayuki told you? Then, you should probably know about my lifespan too.

(Lifespan…?!)

Since I’m going to be in your care for a while, I should probably let you know.

I already know that I’m going to die at twenty-eight.

…?!

H-Huh?! What do you mean?!

What do I mean? Exactly what I said.

Since I know I’m going to die at twenty-eight, I’m gonna enjoy everything that comes my way. Life is short.

Nayuki isn’t really a big fan of my outlook, though. I ended up being a little disliked by him for doing things my own way… but I would’ve liked to get along.

Um, when you say that you’re definitely going to die… does that mean you’re going to… take it into your own hands?

What? Oh, no! Ahahaha! I’m not that crazy that I would go out of my way to die.

This is just the fate I ended up with. Well, I couldn’t believe it myself at first either, so I did try ending my own life…

What?!

But still, I haven’t died once. My fate hasn’t changed.

I just jumped into the ocean, but I ended up being alright, didn’t I?

Umm… It’s just a little hard for me to believe…

Well, I can understand why. However, my death was foreseen by a fortune teller that hasn’t gotten a single reading wrong in years.

In the premonition, I saw the very moment I would die. My body was lying in the darkness.

……

I was smiling really peacefully, too. That’s why I was able to accept the premonition.

I knew that I’d be content the moment I die.

(Is that… really what his fate is? I don’t… really get it.)

More importantly, will we be able to eat whatever we’d like when we get back on land?

I’ve been craving iekei ramen² for a while.

(He talks about his death so easily… I think I can see why Nayuki-kun was angry now…)

(It looks like something’s… a little risky with Raito-san.)