first, let's start with a congratulations! and then, we'll go back to your childhood together...
raku: i don't get it...
hikaru: is something confusing you, raku?
raku: the fact that it was just us who were called... we're usually all summoned together, aren't we?
hikaru: surely we're so beautiful that the others had to be confined to a separate room, huh!
raku: hikaru... saying that sounds like you're putting the others down...
hikaru: that's not what i meant! once again, my beauty is a curse, o' god... please forgive this beautiful muse, orihara hikaru!
raku: (whispering) what a silly child...

i: i'm so sorry for keeping you waiting, you two!
hikaru: oh? could you be a fairy who's who's leaped forward, attracted by my radiance? no, more appropriately -- an angel who's descended from the heavens? (walking towards her)
i: waa--!
raku: what a grandiose person...

i: (sweating) a-actually, we just held a popularity contest for 'combinations.' you two shined splendidly at first place! congratulations!! (she offers them a bouquet of flowers and a trophy.)
hikaru: what beautiful flowers and trophy! but, what exactly is a 'combination' voting poll, raku?
raku: ... i see, so it's like that... i finally see why we were called here.
hikaru: muuu! raku, raku, raku~ instead of keeping it to yourself, tell me, too!
raku: yes, yes... it's likely that they held a contest featuring all of the aichuus. for the "combination," could it be that hikaru and myself were chosen as the favourite?
hikaru: what?! so you're saying that raku and i are a combination so beautiful that we can't lose to anything else in the world?! aaaaahh, i'm so moved i might just faint!
raku: ... if you pass out as well, should i look after you, too?

i: oh dear, we're already seeing the 'rank 1 combination' at work!
hikaru: more sinful than any other life on this earth, so much so that all living things would look to the sky and weep... this duo's name is -- the long haired princes, rakupika combination!!
raku: rejected.
hikaru: the futures of the ice prince and the ink prince have collided, dying us both in black -- the dark princes, rakupika combination!!
raku: rejected.
hikaru: where is your inner child? now, open the gates of your inner heart -- the resplendent, beautiful men with hearts of mystery, the secret princes, rakupika combination!
raku: rejected. can we drop the "rakupika"?
hikaru: fuu... you're so selfish, raku☆ i'll think of an amazing name before the next time we meet!
raku: hikaru... you don't know what it means to be discouraged.

i: (laughing) if it's safe to continue, let's move on to the main question! i've been given some time to conduct a "commemoratory interview" with the rank 1 combination, and what we heard from the results was an overwhelming wish to "hear about your childhoods"! let's hear a bit about that first!
hikaru: our childhoods? well, i was already a beautiful, cute child! right, raku?!
raku: everyone's cute when they're a child.
hikaru: hey, look! the two children in this picture are me and raku! we look really cute, right!

[image; 'our country's first opening! a picture of them as children. from then until now, the tension between the two hasn't changed."]

raku: ... why do you have that picture?
hikaru: eeh? it's a picture of our memories together, so isn't it natural to keep it?
raku: no... carrying it isn't normal...
hikaru: i see... we were so beautiful back then that it can't even be put into words... ah?! could it be that we're the angels?! sorry, interviewer, it looks like we're the ones who have descended from the heavens!

i: i-i see, you could say that...!
raku: you're bothering the young lady. pardon me... the unchanged hikaru is a real idiot.
hikaru: fufu♪ this is a very precious photograph!

i: well then, what did you two do for fun back then?
[image; 'they show yet another picture! this is a rather cute scene, too.']
hikaru: the cute angel from back then, me, collected precious items in a secret hideout!
raku: forget the angel thing right now. ... if i remember, when i found that secret hideout, it was the first time hikaru and i had met.
hikaru: i never thought that anyone would be able to discover my secret hideout! certainly, raku and i were bound by the inseparable thread of fate.
raku: don't be so extravagant. back then, you even showed me some of your precious belongings, didn't you...
hikaru: aah! i'd been collecting bromides of my favourite troupe member. i brought them all out of a chest and we looked over them, huh.
raku: that reminds me, i put an ice sculpture that hikaru gave me into that chest, and the whole thing was flooded with water.
hikaru: no need to worry☆ they're lucky bromides, so they were fine once i dried them out. i'll make more ice sculptures for raku no matter how many times they melt!
raku: maa, we were very naive when we were kids. i'm glad hikaru's such a positive man.

i: what nice memories...! then, since then, you've always been together? what about school?
raku: yes. we went to the same school, too.
hikaru: we walked the same path to and from school together every day. through summer, autumn, winter, and spring, i got to see the changing colour of the leaves every day with raku!
raku: i joined the calligraphy club too. i'd sometimes skip class to sleep, and hikaru would come running over with that loud voice of his...
hikaru: i was in the drama club! i'd go to visit the calligraphy club that raku was in while doing my vocal exercises.
raku: oh, yeah... when summer was late in coming, i'm pretty sure that we decided to come up with some 'seven wonders of the school' on our own, too...
hikaru: aah! that's something i heard about from raku! the one called the "beautiful siren" was me! it was said that the sound of my beautiful voice cleared the ears of all the students who heard it!
raku: (though he was more like the 'loud and annoying siren,' telling him that would have hurt his feelings, so i had to lie... he still believes it; that's my hikaru.)

i: now those times have passed, and you're both in the same unit. how did that come about?
hikaru: it was back when i attended an audition for an opera group...
raku: right, right. hikaru went to an audition that was reserved for females only under the guise of being a woman... it was ruined rather splendidly.
hikaru: aah... i thought if i could use my beauty, i'd be accepted, but it's too bad...
raku: hikaru said to wait for him outside the audition hall, so i waited, but i thought, "i figured as much," when i heard that he'd failed.
hikaru: raku comforted me a lot on the way back home, asking if i wanted to approach the manager about becoming an aichuu. the manager said i had the potential to reach the heights of being an idol by just my looks alone, not to mention my acting skill!
raku: to think that you actually went along with such a suspicious looking bear... hikaru decided to become an idol, so i did, too.
hikaru: raku wanted to become an idol with me!
raku: ahh, don't misunderstand what i meant by that. i thought it would become something interesting if you were there too.
hikaru: of course, i'd never allow you to be bored!
raku: kukuku. hey, isn't he an interesting boy?

i: it sounds like you two really depend on one another. so, after entering the school, ars was formed. i'd like to hear about the other members, too.
raku: honestly, ars is full of interesting members. even without hikaru, their individuality shows just how diverse the world really is.
hikaru: that's right. torahiko's especially a really peculiar guy! but, that way of life is lovely too, it dazzles me!
raku: since torahiko's the leader, i feel good about being in ars.
hikaru: mhm! kyosuke doesn't do anything but draw his manga and akio's a shut-in, so we all follow torahiko's lead!
raku: you just inadvertently said something pretty rude... i'm sure you already know without me saying anything, but as for shiki, he's the kind of guy who became an idol so he can fuss over girls. despite that, he's the best at looking out for everyone, so we all end up depending on him without even realizing it.
hikaru: but, sometimes keeping an eye on shiki ends up being raku's job.
raku: oh... you don't seem like you pay attention to other people, but you really do, how splendid!
hikaru: r-raku! praise me more!!
raku: don't get so excited. (flicks hikaru's forehead)
hikaru: hauu! it's scary when you abuse my beautiful forehead, you know~
raku: kukuku... looks like we've derailed the conversation. to conclude, our current members are great.
hikaru: although we all have a shared connection through the fine arts, we owe our thanks to the president who told us about the path of becoming idols!
raku: we'll use our individual actions to make sure that ars doesn't lose to anybody to repay our manager, won't we!

[――では、その一方でArSとして活動している“お互い”の事はどう思っているのでしょう？

輝：はっはっはっ!!　おかしな事を聞くんだね？　お互い何でアイドルしてるんだろうと疑問に思ってるに決まってるじゃないか！]

i: eh-! what does that mean...?
raku: do you think it's odd? but that's the truth. if we were to think about why we became idols--
hikaru: it's because that's where all the fun is! that is the path to radiance! that is where there are possibilities for stirring up your creativity!
raku: it can't be helped seeing it in an optimistic way. the "freedom" that torahiko is always yelling about is our selling point.
hikaru: altogether, i think we're all very different people. but, that's what's so interesting! we all have things about ourselves that are interesting to one another, so we're able to grow closer!
raku: but it's also hard to say exactly what kind of group we are... this academy really has brought together quite a large collection of personalities.
hikaru: to have won first place as a combination, we must have the most individual personalities! aah, you really are a sinful man, orihara hikaru!

i: ars has such an interesting vibe, being so full of creativity... you have amazing synergy, huh! i'd like to hear from the viewpoint of a creator, too. what do you think of each other's way of expressing yourselves?
hikaru: raku is amazing! since his school days, he's won a lot of awards for his penmanship. i'm in charge of handling all of his award certificates, so i'd love to show you!
raku: aa. he's always dusting my shelves at home. i don't really care for things like medals and scraps of paper, though.
hikaru: that's no good! they're beautiful things that show people the extent of raku's abilities! i'll even go as far as cleaning for raku's sake, so don't say that!
raku: well, if it doesn't bother you... hikaru may be a noisy person, but i think his stage appearance and acting ability are amazing, as well. that's why he's only ever played the leading role, since we were in school.
hikaru: at school festivals, we'd record videos of our performances so that raku and my family could see the beautiful me from all angles. after editing the videos, we look back at them every year! i had a look just the other day, and the innocence of my acting back them is quite charming!
raku: please consider me when you're watching those videos, too...

i: so this is the face of the two of you as 'aichuu creators'... i'd like to hear about your private lives, too.
raku: private, huh... on days off, i usually do calligraphy, and when i'm bored of that, i take a nap. sometimes i shake the savings box i got from torahiko to make sure i've been saving money, too.
hikaru: raku is an economist! i do yoga that i've been learning from mitsurugi akira. my favourite is the falcon pose!
raku: aa. is that the pose you showed me the other day?
hikaru: mhm! let's do it together, raku!
raku: no.
hikaru: always 'no,' 'no'... ah?! could it be that you hate me, raku?! but, no, that can't be... mm! there's no way that there's any part of me that raku hates! right, raku?!
raku: where on earth did all that self-confidence come from... but, yes, you can be sure that i don't hate you.
hikaru: raku, raku, raku~! i'm so happy right now! i'm so happy that i could debut my falcon pose right here, right now!
raku: please restrain yourself.

i: (laughing) by the way, how do you two usually spend your time?
hikaru: usually...? in the morning, once my eyes have focused, i go over to raku's house and we have breakfast together, go to etoile vio together, come home and eat dinner together, then i have a bath at raku's place before going back to my own to sleep! that's my daily routine!
raku: sometimes i go over to hikaru's place, too.
hikaru: raku can't dry his hair by himself, so he's always asking me to do it!
raku: even though i said it's fine to just let it dry by itself...
hikaru: that's no good! raku's hair cells would die, and i'd be sad!
raku: so long as the man himself is alive, that's not a problem, right?
hikaru: no! i will protect raku's beauty!
raku: i see. then i'll leave it to you.
hikaru: aah! please, leave it to me!

i: as expected of the popular rank 1 combination, you're always together, huh! it seems like you'll be together from now on, too, and that makes me feel relieved.
hikaru: that's right. in the future, if we have children, i want them to play together everyday! of course, my child... would call raku 'ojii-san' and give him a big hug! and they'd make raku warm tea every day, and give him a shoulder massage, and make him food... eh? for some reason, i just imagined an image of myself being raku's aid... it's like helping out an old man, isn't it?
raku: i daresay that might be in the future. if that happens, i'll have to look after hikaru in his old age, huh?
hikaru: hahaha! you're so short-tempered, raku☆
raku: (i was just joking... don't think about it too seriously...)

i: now, how about we direct you to our readers, and please them what the secret is to maintaining such a lasting good relationship!
hikaru: to get along well, you have to always keep your eyes on and look out for your partner! if i rely on raku, there isn't a single thing that i can't understand!
raku: that's right. communication is important. listen to and respect your partner's opinions. never forget to be considerate.
hikaru: fufu! that doesn't sound like the kind of thing the raku who's always pestering the producer with questions would say! raku's such a troubled man~♪
raku: what are you saying. aren't you the one who's always gawking over the producer?
hikaru: that's not it at all! i'm always looking out for the producer as well!
raku: fu. it's fine if that's really how you see it... maa, talking so easily -- that is hikaru. if we weren't fated to be friends, we wouldn't be connected like this. i'm sure you have friends who are important to you like that as well, miss.
hikaru: mhm! to me, too, raku is the most important thing in my life!
raku: i feel the same. to those of you who voted for us, were you able to enjoy this interview?
hikaru: if there's ever another interview, please call on me, orihara hikaru! for your sake, i will run, just like melos himself! [a reference to osamu dazai's 'run, melos']
raku: this is happiness! well then, we'll be a duo from now on, too. please look out for us, and ars, as well.
hikaru: until we meet again, mademoiselle!