Revue: The Mystery of the Reappearing Aradama

1: The Oddities Coming off Aradama

Yui: Yamashiro Yui has returned-! And with a big haul of Suzudaru Cats too-.
Kaoru: Aghh, another hard day of work. When we get back, they'd better give us a bonus for this special little business trip.
Nana: Hey, welcome back, Kaoru-chan, Yui-chan.
Nana: Have some banana muffins if you want.
Yui: I'll eat as many muffins a good looking girl like yourself can make!
Mirja: So then, what was it like out there today?
Yui: Hmm, pretty much the same as always. Just like my love for you, Mirja-san!
Mirja: I have no need for that.
Yui: Ah, but listen to this! The aradama today dropped something besides Suzudaru Cats.
Yui: See, look! It's like a polar bear. If any of you girls want it, don't be shy~.
Hikari: That's, Mr. White...!
Karen: He's Hikari-chan's favorite character!
Yui: Well then, Hikari-san! Here's a present for you~. Treasure it like you would treasure me, okay!
Hikari: Th-Thank you...?
Mahiru: Good for you, Hikari-chan.
Mai: It's a real mystery why character goods are coming from the aradama, isn't it?
Mirja: There have been cases in the past of objects stolen by aradama dropping out of them. However... In this case, there have been no reports of these goods being stolen. Isn't that right, Hoshimi Juuna?
Junna: Right. In the first place, there were no news reports of these aradama getting spotted at all.
Juuna: Meanwhile they show up in this theater enough to make you sick. I wonder why?
Tsugumi: Some things just defy reasoning. Hmm, but it is fascinating. Isn't it, Shichinosato-san?
Kofuki: Who cares why this stuff happens? If aradama-chan are showing up, I'm gonna fight 'em. That's all there is to it.
Kaoruko: First Suzudaru Cats, now Mr. White. These aradama-han get their hands on such a variety of things, don't they?
Mahiru: The aradama are a little scary to look at, but they do bring us some cute presents.
Aradama: ......
Nene: Nene-ne!!
Hiyori: Aradama!? And it's another whole swarm of them.
Hikari: ...Just as we mentioned them.
Karen: We can't let them get away, Hikari-chan!
Kofuki: Look at all the aradama-chan lining up! C'mon, show me a good time!
Karen: Ahh~... I'm beat. It was a real shocker seeing that many of them show up.
Karen: Do you think they came because they heard us talking about them?
Hiyori: I've been thinking this for a while, but... The aradama coming here might be different from the ones we usually exorcise with our okatana.
Yume: Actually, this whole theater is pretty weird too. What's up with this place?
Juuna: On this stage, auditions are carried out that only the chosen stage girls can participate in.
Futaba: Revue... To make a long story short, stage girls fight each other here. To become the top star.
Nana: This stage responds to the performance the singing, the dancing, the radiance of stage girls.
Hikari: Yes. A stage girl's radiance - their thoughts and imagination - can take all sorts of shapes here.
Hiyori: So then, what? You and the other stage girls... No, since we're here too, that means one of our imaginations could be creating this stage?
Kaoru: Maybe this is our chance to get away from the back-breaking work they put us through every day. What if everyone thinks of a world where we don't have to work?
Nene: Ne-!
Yui: In that case, I'll imagine up a harem of cuties to fool around with!
Yui: Wait? Looking around, I'm surrounded by pretty faces-- What if I've already reached my paradise!? It's really here!
Juuna: You're something else, to think about this situation that positively... I'm impressed more than anything.
Yui: Thank you very much! Your glasses are lovely, you know that, Juuna-san!
Junna: Th-Thank you. They caught your eye, huh.
Aradama: ......
Kaoru: Again with this...? Somebody teach the aradama how to slack off already.
Kaoruko: Honestly, having gone along with this so far, I wouldn't mind that myself.
Mahiru: I thought they'd give us lots of Suzudaru Cats, but... I won't know what to do if they just keep coming~...
Juuna: Come on... Do you think now's the time for this, you three!?

2: Shaped Thoughts

Mahiru: They dropped another Suzudaru Cat.
Mirja: It truly is an exceptionally strange phenomenon, for the aradama that should only exist in our world to be dropping mascots from this world.
Mirja: However... Considering the explanation before about the strangeness of this theater, I believe we can come to one conclusion.
Juuna: The aradama are a response to our thoughts too...?
Mirja: Yes, that's correct. The items being dropped from the aradama as well... That may be an effect of the thoughts of someone from this world.
Kaoruko: In that case, the culprits are plain as day. The ones causing all this ruckus could only be--
Kaoruko: Hikari-han and Mahiru-han!
Karen: Ehh!?
Mahiru: A-Accusing me like that...　Wh-What am I supposed to say~! You don't believe her, do you, Karen-chan? You don't think I'm the culprit, do you?
Hikari: I do like Mr. White, but... I didn't do it.
Futaba: You don't look very convincing saying that with the doll Yui gave you before tucked between your arms.
Hikari: ...Ah-!?
Kanami: For Mahiru-chan, it's Suzudaru Cat. For Hikari-chan, it's Mr. White. If they're each created from their thoughts, then...
Kanami: Maybe the aradama themselves too... Maybe one of us is the source of them?
Hiyori: And also, creating all those aradama might take an even stronger desire than Mahiru and Hikari's...
Kaoru: As if. Nobody's going to be that happy about an infinite spawn of aradama...
Kaoru: Wait, nevermind.
Tojis: Ahaha...
Kaoruko: ...Is there really such a person?
Mirja: Unfortunately, there is one likely suspect. Even as we speak, she's out wandering in search of more aradama...
Nana: ...That bad, huh.
Kofuki: So you're saying, cause I'm always thinking about aradama-chan, they just keep on coming forever?
Kofuki: The hell; that's awesome! I get all the aradama-chan I can get my hands on!
Mahiru: You really do love aradama, don't you... Shichinosato-san.
Hikari: Mm, it's amazing.
Juuna: But it would be an issue for us if we can never get the auditions to start back up again...
Futaba: Hey, could you maybe just stop thinking about aradama for a while?
Kofuki: You might as well be asking me to drop dead, you know?
Kaoruko: Would it be better for Shichinosato-han to sleep until this is settled? She wouldn't be able to think of them then, would she?
Futaba: What, no, how are we supposed to get her to sleep? It'd be impossible until the aradama are all defeated.
Kofuki: Like I could sleep when there's all these aradama-chan to play with! I'm feeling way too worked up!
Tsugumi: Hm, it seems we don't have a choice...
Tsugumi: Shichinosato-san! Pardon me!!
Kofuki: MMGFGH!? Whaghre youpughng mymough... (What are you putting in my mouth...)
Kofuki: 0X#&$%!!?!?? (IT'S FUCKING AWFUL!!?!??)
Karen: Wait, what... What happened?
Tsugumi: Shichinosato-san's thoughts are giving creation to the aradama...
Tsugumi: With that hypothesis raised, my researcher's curiosity wanted to test it.
Junna: ...And?
Tsugumi: I fed Shichinosato-san one of my custom made ultimate emergency rations (prototype version).
Juuna: Uhh, I don't understand what that has to do with her creating the aradama though...
Tsugumi: You know, I don't really understand it myself, but when I had a classmate test these emergency rations, she said, "It was so vomit inducingly horrible I passed out."
Tsugumi: Whether it's because of the taste or the ingredients, it's a forbidden food that causes loss of consciousness upon eating.
Kaoruko: How terrible, force feeding it to her...
Tsugumi: There's no need to worry. In fact, being able to offer both nutrition and sleep at once, I'm fairly proud of its remarkable efficiency.
Kaoruko: If that's how you prefer to put it...
Kofuki: ......
Yui: Aww, look at the adorable face Kofuki-san's making sleeping there. Makes me just want to rub her cheeks all over~!!
Kaoru: Oi, wouldn't it be best if we put this one to sleep too?
Yui: W-Wait! I can work real hard, okay! Hey, don't come near me with that dangerous stuff, Tsugumi-sannn!
Kaoru: Well, ignoring what it took to accomplish... The source of the aradama should now be asleep.
Yume: Now we won't have to fight any more of these aradama that're so annoying even though they're so weak.
Yomi: Yes, that should be the case.
Karen: Alright, just one more push and then the auditions can restart!
Kanami: Yeah! We'll do all we can to help get the auditions started again right away!
Nana: I wasn't sure what we'd do for a while, but we're nearly there! I still have plenty of muffins left too, so feel free to have some before we fight.
Yume: Yaaay, thanks-. I like your muffins, Onee-san. They're good!
Kaoru: Maybe I should go to sleep too... I might not be able to help myself from thinking about aradama, you know.
Kaoru: Just to make sure.
Tsugumi: Well, I could use another test sample. It would be a great help if you'd eat this here emergency ration. How about it?
Kaoru: ...I'll pass.
Kaoru: Sigh... I thought it'd be a good chance to take a break too.
Tsugumi: That's a real shame. Oh, just in case, I'll watch over Shichinosato-san.
Tsugumi: If she shows signs of waking up, I'll shove another of these emergency rations down her throat.
Kaoru: That's just brutal... Go easy on her, will you.

3: Approach of the Final Act

Aradama: ......
Hiyori: Kh... Their numbers aren't dropping as much as I'd hoped.
Claudine: What's going on? Weren't the aradama supposed to have stopped multiplying?
Maki: Maybe Shichinosato Kofuki woke up again?
Suzuka: It would be good of us to confirm things with Ban-san.
Maya: Yes, that would be wiser than fighting on here.
Tsugumi: So then you all came back to check. I see... The aradama are still appearing.
Kofuki: ......
Tsugumi: As you can tell, Shichinosato-san is fast asleep.
Junna: Then, why haven't they stopped?
Mirja: I don't want to believe we've completely misinterpreted the cause, but... We're back where we started.
Kaoruko: Hang on, are you questioning my brilliant idea?
Futaba: The aradama are still coming, so what else are we supposed to do?
Kaoru: If she's still thinking up aradama in her dreams, then we might as well call it quits.
Everyone: Hmm~~~mm...
Yume: Hey hey, you know, if the aradama are still coming, then...
Yume: What if there's somebody else besides that aradama loving onee-san that's still thinking about aradama all the time?
Mirja: Tsubakuro Yume, that's an excellent theory.
Yume: Ehehe, I got a compliment~.
Mirja: By nature, the stage girls should not be aware of aradama. It's difficult to believe they would have any strong thoughts about aradama from our fight with them here.
Mirja: We should examine the possibility that another toji besides Shichinosato Kofuki would wish for aradama to appear.
Tsugumi: I see, I see. So the true culprit was someone else, or perhaps they were working as a pair.
Tsugumi: Then, based on that hypothesis, let's investigate who could be creating the aradama.
Tsugumi: Is there anything distinctly different about the aradama that are appearing now?
Kanami: Different? Hmm, I feel like they're a little tougher than the ones we were fighting before, or maybe, closer to the ones back home?
Kanami: Did you notice anything different, Mai-chan?
Mai: Eh? Umm... Well, there sure were a lot of different types of aradama now. And, looking at them, it seemed like there were practically no visual differences between them and the ones we normally fight at home.
Kanami: Wow, you were really paying attention! Nice going, Mai-chan!
Mai: Ufufu. Let's see, thinking back to them now, the aradama before Shichinosato-san went to sleep were sort of carelessly put together too. Like they were made in a frenzy...
Tsugumi: Hmm hmm, I see, I see. A bizarrely accurate imitation of normal aradama...
Tsugumi: Was there anything else?
Yume: There was this person shaped aradama I haven't really seen before too! It was creepy, so I made sure to chop it up~.
Tsugumi: Well now, a human type aradama?
Hiyori: Right, there was one of those too. It's movements were just bizarre. Honestly, I never want to see one of those again...
Futaba: It'd make a great training partner for swordfighting scenes though.
Tsugumi: More than likely, that aradama is a product of Renpu's research.
Hiyori: What-!? You mean you're the one who made that awful thing!?
Tsugumi: Hey, I'm not saying that. I've only happened to see records of experiments attempting to create that type of aradama.
Hiyori: O-Oh... In that case, sorry I lost my temper.
Tsugumi: It's alright, don't let it bother you. ...Were you frightened by it?
Hiyori: Sh-Shut up!
Tsugumi: It's all coming together now... From the information we've compiled, I think I can identify the culprit.
Karen: Wait, really?
Tsugumi: Yes, thank you for your cooperation. With the strangely accurate imitations, and the human type aradama most wouldn't be aware of...
Tsugumi: These clues lead us to one conclusion: the culprit behind the aradama's creation is...
Hikari/Karen/Kanami: Who...!?
Tsugumi: None other than myself!
Kaoru: Figures.
Kaoru: Cause you love them too, in a different sense.
Tsugumi: Well, I had a slight feeling that's what was happening too. Overly thinking about something you've been told not to think about is sadly one of humanity's bad habits.
Mahiru: But, you just can't help yourself from thinking about what you like, can you.
Karen: Mmhm. I think about Starlight all the time!
Yui: Me too, me too! All I ever think about is having a good time with girls!
Tsugumi: Thank you for your reassurance. Anyway, I'm going to join Shichinosato-san on the other side. Good luck in dealing with the aradama.
Kaoru: Don't phrase it like that.
Tsugumi: Still... A 100% rate of imitation? Fufu, it makes me a little happy to hear that.
Tsugumi: Anyway, time to dig in. Chew chew...
Tsugumi: Ohh, it's... There's a nice crispy texture, like biting into sand... Or so it seemed, but now it's clumping into a thick mass sticking to my tongue...
Tsugumi: An aroma like gasoline is piercing my nostrils, pushing my senses to their limit... Feeling faint... My head is swimming...
Tsugumi: Snooze...
Mirja: ...She's asleep now.
Mirja: Though, listening to her comments, I cannot begin to imagine that ration's flavor. What could give her that reaction...
Mirja: No, as they say, curiosity killed the cat. It would be better to never know...
Nana: If you're going to make emergency rations, I think you should at least try making them taste nice and normal...
Yume: You said it-. There's no way I'm ever eating those rations!
Kanami: Everyone... Do your best not to think about aradama!
Karen: But, when I think about not thinking, I might think about it...
Hikari: Then, Karen... Do you want to eat those rations too?
Karen: Ehh, no wayyy. It didn't sound tasty, it was actually kinda scary!
Kanami: In that case, while we let them sleep, let's get rid of the aradama. As fast as we can, okay!
Karen: Yeah! Let's do our best!
Mai: The number of aradama is definitely decreasing. We're doing it!
Hikari: This time for sure, the audition should be able to resume.
Kaoru: Yeah, if we keep this up, we should wipe all the aradama out. Though it's still a hassle.
Mahiru: That means we only have a short time left to spend with the toji, huh... Thinking about it like that, it's kind of sad.
Mai: That's true. We did have a lot of fun together.
Mahiru: But, that doesn't mean we can put this off any longer. We have to do what needs to be done.
Mai: Right. We just need a little more of your help, Tsuyuzaki-san.
Kaoru: Speaking of what needs to be done, before we go back to our world, someone should wake up Kofuki and Tsugumi.
Mirja: Yes. Though the chance may be small, if they were to remain here, it would cause a great many problems. I believe we should make sure our condition is the same as when we arrived.
Kaoru: Those two are dead asleep over there. It's making me jealous-.
Kaoru: Actually, maybe I shouldn't be... Not after they basically got knocked out cold.
Nene: Nene~...