I wonder how I should tackle the new song for the live show. I wanna make something burning with sizzling-hot, ice-cold passion—from the lyrics to the melodies!

Th-That sounds pretty different from what you suggested before.

Now it's just weird in a different way! What the heck does that even mean?!

Aw, and I was enjoying our fallen angel Lili so much! That's a shame.

Hm? Hey, Riko? Is that a makeup set that you have out on the desk there?

Totally! I'm training up my makeup skills for the live show! I can't keep relying on Mari to lecture me on how to do it properly!

There's no need to worry about that. I love doing your makeup!

Lemme see your makeup kit too! Hmm. Lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, false eyelashes…

The…colors are intense as well. Blue, black, green, and purple… There's even some with glitter mixed into them. That's Guilty Kiss for you.

It's important to make a strong impression, you know? You gotta look cool, dark, and mysterious. Not to mention exciting and wild, in a rock star kinda way!

All those charms that Guilty Kiss has can be represented 120% with makeup!

Whoa… I've never seen you use a color like that before, Riko. Are you sure it's okay? Maybe you should thin it out a bit more.

You think so? I think it's pretty good. Now she looks more like a little demon than ever before.

A girl's makeup kit is like her set of magic items! She's only going to She's only going to become prettier and prettier with each spell she casts on herself.

…………

Riko? Is something wrong?

[Fade in/out.]

My face looks…totally unrecognizable.

Well of course it does. You're wearing makeup you would never usually wear. Actually, you've seen yourself like that a few times now through your practice runs, haven't you?

That's true… But I think similar things each time I practice. It feels like there's a different version of me inside the mirror, one that I don't recognize.

It's different from my regular self and from how I am as part of Aqours… If I had never joined Guilty Kiss, there's no way I would have met this version of myself.

When I think of it that way, my heart starts to beat loudly in my chest. I always brush it off as mid-show excitement when it happens onstage, though.

When I really take my time and consider Guilty Kiss, I feel like I can understand why. Guilty Kiss is the very definition of eccentric.

It's a world that's kind of separated from my ordinary routine. It makes my heart race and pound, but that sensation is what makes me want to treasure it. The group lets me bask in all of those feelings.

People love Guilty Kiss because it creates that kind of world. I wonder if perhaps we should be trying to show people more of that eccentricity of ours…

Why are you quibbling so much over this?!

Wh-What?! I was being really serious about everything I said.

Guilty Kiss is so beloved because it has the three of us singing together. We have the dark Yoshiko, the cool and collected Riko, and me, the mysterious Mari!

I-I'm not cool at all!

Isn't it pretty cool how you can ruthlessly brush off Yoshiko's Yohane talk?

Don't brush me off! Coolly or otherwise!

*Laugh* To be honest, I think that both of you made good points with what you said.

Only you guys could deliver such heart-pounding, pulse-quickening eccentricity. It's a charm unique to this sub-unit called Guilty Kiss.

Thank you. It's only because of you that I realized it in the first place.