R Episode 6 – The Two of Us Are Rivals!!

**The Two of Us Are Rivals!!** is the sixth episode of Dream Festival! R. The episode aired on September 27th, 2017.

## Plot

*Chizuru and Itsuki finally form a duo unit! But in the process they learn being good friends isn't enough to make is successful when Itsuki has other jobs getting in the way of their time together. Feeling inferior and abandoned, Chizuru attempts to find his own path.*

## Summary

After the success of Junya and Shin as a temporary duo unit, Chizuru and Itsuki are invited into Sho's office shortly after, where he reveals he's gotten a lot of requests to see them do the same. He recalls how successful they have been so far and both are delighted by the news, so Sho reveals there has been an official debut planned for them during a regular concert.

With that, he goes on to bring up their unit name and the ideas he had; using their hair colors he thought of "*Hydrangea Boys*", followed by their names to form "*Ichizu Boys*", or the "*Dekoboko Boys*" with their height difference. Neither boy likes any of the names, leaving Chizuru stressed out and Itsuki speechless, and Chizuru quickly steps in to make him stop, claiming they already chose a name. When put on the spot he comes up with the word *grapes*, which they change into *Muscat*, which leads him to get a real idea: *W-MaSKat*. Sho approves and the guys prepare to leave until he stops them to point out a job offer came in for Itsuki.

As the guys prepare for training Itsuki informs them that he will be a newscaster on the program "*News Evening*". It airs on weekends during the evening and just had a revamp, so they wanted to bring in someone younger to represent the opinion of a younger crowd. He was told it would overlap with his training as a new unit, but he refuses to hold anyone back and accepted the request. Chizuru and Kanade compliment Itsuki as a good choice, and Chizuru curiously thinks about how he would do as a newscaster- and utterly fails, just as Itsuki reveals he will begin work on the show next week.

That evening, Chizuru informs Yuzuru of his unit as they eat spicy pudding together. Yuzuru offers some advice to Chizuru, stating that they will need to put effort into the unit and that being friends isn't enough to make it succeed, and Chizuru admits that he could tell, given how *In-Show-Ha* sometimes acted. But he and Itsuki always have fun naturally, so he's sure it will work out. Seeing as Chizuru doesn't understand, Yuzuru leaves the room, shocking Chizuru when he says to think of Itsuki as an *enemy*.

Eventually the reveal for the unit takes place. They do gravure work and appear on programs and stage to promote their unit, and sell merch. As this is going on Itsuki is on his own to work on the program.

Over time the guys are happily chatting with Chizuru regarding the units rising popularity and he is very proud their efforts are paying off so far. During their downtime they have also been doing *DearDream* related work, so even though they are a lot busier now he's very happy. It's then they recall that Itsuki's news program will be starting and they turn it on to watch, expressing surprise to see how grown-up Itsuki looks as he introduces himwself to the audience. He explains that he is new to this kind of job but he will do well as an idol.

As they watch the program Chizuru finds himself concerned as he recalls what Yuzuru told him. But he still doesn't understand.

One day the guys are preparing for training and excitedly chat about how big Itsuki has become over time. But by now Chizuru is getting frustrated due to how late he is that day while trying to bring back attention to his unit. To his disappointment, he's sent a text saying Itsuki will be later than they planned due to some unforseen circumstances. Kanade sees that Chizuru is really sad, but he plays it off when Sho joins them to invite Chizuru to his office.

There, Sho reveals Chizuru was invited to participate in a Variety Show, and Chizuru hastily accepts without giving it any thought. He believes this is important as he has to work as hard as Itsuki in order to keep up with him.

As they walk home that night he reveals the offer to Itsuki, and he seems concerned given the theme of the show, in that the person is only given *500 yen* and they have to make it last for an entire week, so it has to be spent carefully as they stay in one solidary room this entire time. Chizuru doesn't really care though, even as Itsuki reminds him that he may be too busy with his Idol career to handle this, but Chizuru insists he will be fine, saying it could be good promotion for their unit too. Itsuki stops Chizuru to say something, but he goes silent, unable to express himself further.

Soon the program is underway and cameras are set up in the room Chizuru will be staying in, and he starts by introducing himself and the program. Initially he seems concerned, but he assures the audience he will be fine because he came up with a "*One for Ten Yen?! Snack Buying*" strategy. Where he basically bought a whole bunch of snacks and still has a lot of money left over, and he will eat his snacks as both a meal and snack through the day in order to balance things out and provide him with nutrients. He's sure he can easily get through the week.

Five days later, Chizuru is left without any energy to do anything and has realized how little the snacks actually helped him. Out of concern Itsuki shows up to check on him but Chizuru has become fussy and tempermental. Itsuki tries calming him down but Chizuru gets angered realizing he went out to eat recently, throwing a small tantrum after reminding Itsuki they promised to go to the place he went together. Itsuki tries to explain that the other staff invited him there and he didn't want to be rude for turning them down but Chizuru accuses him of not caring about him or their unit. Itsuki gets angry and says he spoke out of line, claiming that he does still care about things outside of the new program. Chizuru tells him to shut up and that he would rather be left alone, and Itsuki agrees to give him some space.

As he is leaving he runs into Yuzuru, who was standing nearby and tells Itsuki what he told Chizuru. Itsuki stops to observe the frustrated Chizuru again and sadly leaves.

That evening he calls Chizuru's phone in hopes he would be willing to speak but he gets no answer.

Meanwhile, Chizuru is laying in the room and has even less energy than earlier. He's alone and surrounded by by several pictures he drew of himself and Itsuki eating. As he reflects on his cruelty from earlier, he assumes Itsuki is angry with him now while recalling how excited he was for their unit when it was first announced, but now he doesn't know what to think.

Suddenly, Itsuki shows up and explains that he spoke to Sho, who talked to the manager of the program and allowed him to join in for the remainder of his time in there and lend a hand. He observes the snacks Chizuru brought and asks how much he has left, then Chizuru goes over the rules of the program and how people are allowed to use "*seasoning*" freely. Itsuki quickly gathers the remaining snacks and uses them to prepare a meal for Chizuru, who shockingly asks how he managed to do this in admiration of the meal he made. Itsuki recalls a supermarket nearby that always offers daily specials, and because the vegetables were discounted he got them for a decent price. The rest of the food was made from the variety of snacks. He suggests Chizuru eat while it's still hot and Chizuru agrees, but he finds himself weeping and thanks Itsuki.

Later the duo decide to go to bed, with Chizuru apologizing for taking such a crazy job to begin with, especially since he knew they had to foucs on their performance. He did it to help them, but it was mainly because he felt like he was falling behind after watching Itsuki work so hard. He felt pressured and out of irritation lashed out at Itsuki for what he said, and this makes the guys recall what Yuzuru said and they decide their enemy relationship is that of *rivals*. Chizuru is surprised by this, but Itsuki claims that as long as he's known him, he has always shined brightly, and he strived to avoid losing to Chizuru. Chizuru keeps him going, and he feels encouraged to continue watching him. Such words cause Chizuru to realize he felt the same way, and they reconcile before falling asleep.

Eventually their performance date arrives. With both of them managing to obtain a steady fanbase from their efforts, they step on the stage and greet everyone, and as their performance begins Kanade is shown training and watching it. This causes him to realize that he's never determined what type of idol he is, and he begins to feel lost.

## Trivia

* This is the first time Itsuki narrates a "*Previously on*" segment.
* The name that Ituski and Chizuru come up with for their subunit, *W MaSKat*, is a reference to the nickname of their voice actors when together: *W Masaki*.
* Itsuki having his hair in twin buns and doing a cat pose is a reference to his voice actor who did the same and tweeted it.
* This is Yuzuru's first main appearance in Season 2.

## Gallery

R Episode 6 – The Two of Us Are Rivals!!/Image Gallery