SAME_OLD_'THRILLING' ROUTINE
(Vol. 1 Track 3)

Interviewer 1: Uhm, alright then, let’s get started with the interview, shall we? I’m from LINE Publishing’s Rockhouse editorial department, please, call me Dojima! Very nice to meet you all!

RUBIA Leopard: Nice to meet you!

Interviewer 1: Congratulations on the new album release! More to the point, if you could please tell us a bit about your thoughts now that you’ve finished recording, and on the themes behind the album itself…?

[sfx: time passing]

Interviewer 2: I’m Kusuda from Air Music Publishing. Getting down to business, about your thoughts on the new album, and the themes behind it…? 

[sfx: time passing]

Interviewer 3 (Hasebe): My name is Hasebe, from New Age Entertainment! I’d like to ask… 

Akane: Want to know our thoughts on the album, do you?

Hasebe: Ah, yes! Of course, I would love to ask you all about the new album. But actually, I wanted to ask for your input on this project we’re working on…!

Haiji: “The future of fandom, featuring the hottest stars…”

Kurono: (far too seriously) “A trendy new column: Musicians to… ‘rock’ your world!” ^[1]

Akane: (repressed laughter) That’s.. one heck of a title…!

Mashiro: C’mon, it wasn’t that funny…

Akane: But, haha! Kurono read it so damn seriously, ha, haha! Shit, that was good…

Kurono: Did I say something strange? My apologies…

Mashiro: No, see, that’s exactly what we’re talking about.

Haiji: I think it’s a wonderful title!

Hasebe: Thank you very much! Our female staff members worked together to come up with something that would have real impact!

Mashiro: (clears throat) Yes, it’ll definitely appeal to a female audience, very cute! I think it’s fantastic. Hasebe-chan, was it? Lovely to meet you. Ask me whatever you’d like, ‘kay?

Hasebe: Oh…! O-Of course! L-Lovely to meet you too!

Iwahara: Thank you for taking the time to come out and see us today.

[sfx: door opening]

Iwahara: I’ll escort you to the lobby.

Hasebe: Ah, that’s alright! I can go from here!

Iwahara: I see. In that case, please forgive the discourtesy, and have a safe journey home.

Hasebe: Thank you! Oh, I believe the article should be published in about a week or so…

Iwahara: We’ll be looking forward to it.

Hasebe: Now, if you’ll excuse me…!

[sfx: Hasebe walking off, door closing]

Iwahara: That’s all for today. Good work, guys.

Akane: Auugh, I feel like I just said the same thing a hundred times over ...

Kurono: Good work today, Akane-san.

Haiji: I wish we could have answered more questions for you, but…

Mashiro: They all want to hear from our genius song-crafting lyric-writing leader… Though, I was surprised by how many of them asked the exact same questions! It felt like I was just copy-pasting by the second half…

Iwahara: (laugh) Well, that’s to be expected, given the timing. Just grin and bear it.

Haiji: And that just means the media’s interested in what we’re doing, right?

Kurono: It’s one thing when it’s regarding our music, but asking about what we’ve been into lately, or our taste in women… Are those types of questions really necessary?

Mashiro: I mean, that’s the kind of thing our fans love to hear about, so it’s whatever, right? Now, then… 

[sfx: door opening]

Mashiro: I’m gonna head out for a quick smoke.

[sfx: door closing]

Kurono: Oi, Mashiro! I can't believe him…  Even though we still have practice…!

Haiji: It’s alright, we still have plenty of time!

Iwahara: My bad, guys, I need to head off as well. Play nice while I’m gone.

Haiji: Oh, Iwahara-san, what time do you think you’ll be home?

Iwahara: No clue. I need to drop by the outdoor venue we’re using for the last performance, and after that I have a briefing with the venue staff.

Haiji: In that case, I’ll make you a light meal for when you get back.

Iwahara: I’m sorry. You don’t need to hold up waiting for me, alright?

Haiji: Of course! I’ll make sure to put myself first!

Iwahara: Akane, Kurono. You two as well, don’t overdo it in rehearsals.

[sfx: door opening, closing]

Kurono: I really still can’t imagine Iwahara-san being untidy, even at home...

Akane: More importantly, what’s with the married couple routine?

Haiji: If I’m not there to check up on him, he won’t eat properly, so I worry! It’s like he puts everything into his work, and then doesn’t have the energy to do anything else!

Kurono: Ah, Akane-san is like that sometimes as well. 

Haiji: Though, I know he’s only working so hard so Rubire can succeed, so I don’t feel like I can say anything about it…

Kurono: Being worried for him, but also not wanting to get in the way of his work… A dilemma, for sure.

Haiji: Exactly! At least I’m there to remind him to rest properly, but… Seriously, how would he cope if he were living alone?

Kurono: Living alone…? No, I couldn’t allow it. I’d worry too much!

Haiji: I can barely even relax when he goes away on business trips…

Kurono: When he left for New York again, I felt like I was dying…!

Akane: Uh, I’m gonna go get some fresh air real quick.

[sfx: Akane walking off, door opening]

[sfx: Mashiro smoking, door opening, closing]

Mashiro: Hm? What’s up?

Akane: I’m leaving those two alone to their housewife talk. I think it’s bad for my complexion.

Mashiro: (laugh) What’s that about?

Akane: I’ll have a cigarette too, if you don’t mind.

Mashiro: Huh? You smoke?

Akane: Only sometimes, when I feel like it. 

Mashiro: Hmm?

[sfx: Mashiro handing Akane a cigarette]

Akane: <Thank you.>

[sfx: lighter being flicked open]

Mashiro: Allow me!

Akane: What is this, a host club?

Mashiro: Feels like one, doesn’t it?

Akane: A little too much, it’s hilarious. (puffing) Ah, smoke… 

Mashiro: Good work.

Akane: If you say so. I laughed a little too hard at that pun earlier.

Mashiro: (copying Kurono’s tone) Musicians to.. ‘rock’.. your world!

Akane: (devolving into laughter again) Oh that’s bad, here I go again… Hah, I thought I was over it… This is all your fault!

Mashiro: It was pretty interesting though, wasn’t it? We don’t really talk about what we’re up to at the moment otherwise.

Akane: We don’t, do we? I already knew about Kurono and cooking, but I didn’t know Haiji played darts… And, that’s my first time hearing about you getting into aromatherapy.

Mashiro: Surprising, right? I didn’t know that one either.

Akane: …Huh?

Mashiro: (giggle) You see, whenever I say stupid things like that, I always end up with a mountain of the stuff from fans, right? But on the other hand, the office staff throw away anything I can put near my mouth, so there’s no point in talking about my love for alcohol.

Akane: So, aromatherapy?

Mashiro: Yeah! There aren’t many ladies out there who hate it. It’s convenient, see?

Akane: Yeah… No, nevermind. You probably mean something awful when you say that.

Mashiro: Not at all, no! I’m just saying that you can still be grateful for gifts even if you don’t use ‘em, and then just recycle them instead – it’s really eco-friendly!

Akane: Ugh, heartless.

Mashiro: It’s fine, isn’t it? Best way to keep both me and my fans happy.

Akane: Hmm. Managed to get Hasebe-chan’s number then, did you?

Mashiro: Oh, what? You caught me already…

Akane: I don’t really care what you get up to.

Mashiro: If you don’t allow yourself a little excitement and warmth every once in a while, life gets boring real quick!

Akane: I don’t even have time to be bored with how much work I’m doing. 

Mashiro: You say that, but you look bored out of your mind, Akane-chan!

Akane: Of course I do, listening to another guy talk about his adventures is boring.

Mashiro: Now that’s not true. (puffing, clearing throat) Debuting to the world like a comet, climbing the charts at an extraordinary pace, tickets sold out the same day they go on sale… Songwriter, lyricist and vocalist, all at the same time, the ever-so-distinguished son of a world-renowned corporation and musical genius… Higurashi Akane!

Akane: Ohh, but you forgot to mention that I’m mixed on my mother’s English side.

Mashiro: Rubire’s supporters love to exaggerate our lives, but your profile is always particularly impressive. And on top of that, it’s basically all true!

Akane: (puffing) A genius, huh? 

Mashiro: You have a face that says I’ve been too blessed, I’m bored of it. But when I try and live with a little luxury, you people say I’m heartless…!

Akane: Even putting aside whatever advantages you’re born with, I think we’d all be better off if this industry left so-called geniuses behind for good. We need more variety, don’t you think?

Mashiro: Genius not enough for you? Then… what about a modern-day Mozart? Oh wait, wrong genre. In that case… John Lennon?

Akane: I don’t know what else I expected, but that’s…

Mashiro: I’m only kidding! It was a joke. Forget I said anything.

[sfx: Mashiro stubbing out his cigarette]

Mashiro: Putting the topic of geniuses aside, I’d be thankful if you could hold off on becoming a legendary celebrity a little longer. I’m pretty happy where I am, playing music by your side.

[sfx: Mashiro patting Akane on the back]

Mashiro: Now that that’s over, I’m heading out for a bit.

Akane: You gonna do something dumb?

Mashiro: Yes!

Akane: What about rehearsals?

Mashiro: Hard pass! I hate practicing! 

[sfx: Mashiro walking off]

Mashiro: Hey, you there? Maybe I’m mistaken, but were you waiting for me to call? Mm, right now? You wanna meet up? I thought you knew this already, but I have a gig tomorrow! Yeah. I’ll need to get back before the trains stop running, alright?