The Love Bus was riding Moscow, Russia's capital and largest city with its 10 million inhabitants.

TK「It kinda looks like Shinjuku」

Effectively, there might be a resemblance.
After riding for ten minutes in a Shinjuku-looking Moscow.

「Wow！」
「What？What？」
「It's a castle, a castle」
「It looks like Disneyland」

The Love Bus had arrived to the Kremlin.
In Russian, Kremlin means "fortress", and is Russia's political center, surrounded by a wall.
In there, President Putin is on duty in the Presidential Executive Office.

Mie「Fantastic！」
Aya「Great！」
Aya「It's like a fairy tale」

It was the Russian Orthodox St Basil's Basilica.
It is famous for its colorful roofs shaped like onions.

TK「Wo-ho-ho！Great！」
Hide「Wow！That's great!」

Then off to Red Square.
This place is the symbol of socialism, which saw the dawn of the Soviet revolution.

TK「This place is great」
Arashi「It's crazy. It's really great. Yeah, crazy」

The seven were deeply moved by the weight of such historical significance.

In the bus, on their way back.

TK「Man, that was so intense」

TK , the Yankee flavored one, who is usually cool and never gets excited.
He's the 27 year old one who is pursuing many different dreams. Today too, he was excitingly talking about one of his dreams.

TK「It's like, every person speaks at a different volume, you know. I can hear that very well. I started to be interested in that, and I started thinking I wanted to be a singer when I was maybe about 21」

Apparently,TK had once wanted to become a singer.

Aya「Are you still thinking about that?」
TK「It's still on my mind, you know. It's like, there's a second voice (literally: "mind B") inside me saying if I wanted to do it, I should」
Aya「Oh, there's a second voice inside you」
TK「But there's also the main voice (literally: "mind A") inside me saying "Nakamura, what if you screw it up?」
Aya「Oh, there's also a main voice inside you」
TK「That's right! Now, the main voice is winning, so I'm living my life as it is」
Suuzan「Ha, ha, ha, the "main voice"」
Aya「Ha, ha, ha」

That afternoon, Arashi was writing something in his room.The following is part of a conversation Arashi had with Oose (an ex-girl member) a long time ago.

Oose「 Arashi , since you turned 20 is there anything you've done for the first time?」
Arashi「Well, I've stopped, I wanna stop riding bicycles, because it's embarrassing. I've already stopped running, too. Like, it's embarrassing to be seen in a hurry.」
　

Although he had been playing since elementary school, Arashi hadn't been chosen as one of the players when he took part in the last senior high baseball competition. He also failed to be accepted in the college of his choice when he took the university entrance examination.

Since then, he had made a lot of efforts to improve himself. That is what he was writing with such application. It was a ... 『 power up notebook 』？Actually, he had been writing the knowledge needed to better himself on a daily basis. For example:

「First I have to study. Study and learn what I don't know」
「The first condition for that is economy」
「The Nile is 6700kms long」
「Do not cook meat until it is well done all the way to the middle」
「Indent when writing an address on an envelope. The civic number should be written in smaller case. There should be at least one space between the addressee's name and the honorific title」

The next day...

Arashi「What a bustle」
「Yeah」

The Love Bus had stopped on Moscow's main street, Albert Street.

Arashi「There's lots of nice cars, too」
「Yeah, that's right」
TK「Plenty, eh? They're all luxury cars, too」
Arashi「There's gotta be a lot of rich people」

The group was blinded by the prosperous atmosphere.
Actually, in the last few years in Russia the number of millionaires has increased around Moscow.
According to Forbes magazine, Russia ranks third in the world after the US and Germany for number of billionaires worth more than 2.5 billions.Even among the younger generation, the number of so-called "new rich" has also rapidly increased.

「Cool」
Mie「Cool. Nice style」
Arashi「Classy」

The group was watching young people dashingly walking around in fashionable clothes. Then...

Suuzan「Ah, what's with that elderly woman?」
Mie「Yeah, what is she doing?」
There was a woman picking through garbage.
Mie「She's ragged, eh?」

They had suddenly realized there were many similar lone, elderly people on the street.

The group had gone to a park nearby. Then...

Arashi「Hey, are they his friends?」

Sasha the driver had suddenly stopped in front of three elderly people. He then put something in their hands. Money.

Elderly woman「Even just a little is welcome. If you have any money, please give us some. Help us, please」
Sasha「These elderly people can't make a living on their pension only. They're homeless」

The Love Bus had been to 60 countries around the world. The Ainori members had seen many poor slump kids. But it was the first time they had seen elderly homeless.


Elderly woman「Life is difficult in this world now. It was much better under the Soviet regime」

15 years ago under the Soviet regime such a gap between rich and poor would have been unthinkable. How did this happen?

Ainori course on the world's unknown reality 『From socialism to capitalism～Russia's light and darkness～』

In 1917, the Soviet Union was born out of the first socialist revolution in the world. The new socialist government aimed for an "Equal society where disparities in wealth don't exist", by seizing the Emperor and aristocrats' properties first, and nationalizing all land and factories. Education and medical treatment became free for the people. Socialism strove to create the ideal Utopia where 'All the people were equal'. However, the people lost something very important in exchange, i.e. their freedom.

Sasha「We couldn't go abroad freely. Television wasn't broadcasting anything about foreign countries, so we had no idea what was going on.」

People were deprived of their freedom of speech, and couldn't criticize the government.
In a word, the people had obtained 'Equality' in exchange for 'Freedom'.
In addition, a huge pitfall was awaiting them. The salary was the same for everybody, whether they'd be hardworking or lazy. It was a society in which effort was not rewarded. As a result, the willingness to work decreased gradually. Industries stagnated and the economy deteriorated. The people's dissatisfaction increasingly grew, until 1991, which saw the fall of the Soviet Union and the birth of the Russian Federation. The people got their freedom back.

Sasha「We were really happy. We could work freely, and get money proportional to our efforts and gain better salaries. It's great」

Those who benefited the most from Russia's "freedom" were the younger generation. They adjusted promptly to this freely competitive world, and one after another new rich were born. But the reality was quite different for the elderly.

Elderly woman「Before the pension was guaranteed and made the necessities of life affordable. But now prices have become so expensive」

Due to this new economic freedom, Russia's inflation has soared very quickly. Bread and milk have become 70 times more expensive than they were 15 years ago. For that, older people cannot afford to live on their pension only.

Elderly woman「For older people like us, everyday is a survival...」

That night..

Umechan「You can hardly see such people in Japan...」
Hide「But I think they're so angry, they're so sad because they probably think that their country being their only ally is not thinking about them, you know」
Mie「Like, we're still young, we can work, so... it's like, when I think about these elderly women, I think socialism might have some good, you know」
Suuzan「Yeah, but isn't capitalism like economic freedom? For people who really wanna do something, isn't it better?」
Mie「It's more advantageous」
Suuzan「Yeah, more advantageous」
TK「Aya , What do you think? What's your opinion?」
Aya「・・・I'm sorry, I have no idea」
Hide「I wonder why it turned out like this. Like, I thought it's really necessary to learn about this」
TK「Yeah, you really get curious about it, right?」
Mie「Yeah, but what they taught us at school was so limited」
Umechan「That's so true. It's all about getting higher marks, not about what's going on in places like Russia. I've never thought or learned about how other people might feel or suffer.」

Young people in Russia have obtained this expected "freedom", but in their shadow remains elderly, homeless people who can barely survive.

Is there a society in which all people can become happy?

The next day, in the car...

Mie「Ok, I'm gonna give you a quiz, so please answer, ok? 」
「OK!」

In charge of pepping up the group, Mie, the Kansai gal, started a psychological quiz.

Mie「You're on you're way to a festival, ok?。」
「Ok」
Mie「In the shrine's "kyounai" (note from the translator: She's misreading kanjis meaning "yard") there are many..」
TK「It's YARD (keidai)」
Aya「yard, yard (keidai, keidai)」
Hide「You made a mistake」
TK「Hey, are you ok?」
Mie「Ok, let me start over again. You're on your way to a festival. In the shrine's "keinai" there are..」
Hide「Oh, come on！」
Aya「yard, yard (keidai, keidai)」
Umechan「Ha, ha, ha」
　

Mie was too much for the group and made them burst out in laughter.
The mood in the Love Bus was on the rise.
However, Aya 's expression became dark. Actually, even during the previous day's conversation, when she said:「I'm sorry, I have no idea」, Aya couldn't share her opinion. She's not good at group discussions, because she's too nervous. In her application letter to Ainori, she had written how she worried about how she was poor at communicating with others.

From Aya 's diary:“In the bus, like, when Mie seemed to have so much fun laughing, I thought I should also do that. Like, I should make the others laugh, and I became terribly sad.

Aya「I was thinking: "I wanna go home". I hate that. I wonder if I'm really 25. I hate myself」

That night..

Hide「Hey」

Hide had called out the shy 25 year old Aya. He had been worrying about her, because she seemed down.

Hide「Like, I was wondering if you didn't like being in a group」
Aya「right, right」
Hide「I mean, you've only been here for a short three days, so I shouldn't be asking that, but now is a good opportunity, so I thought, let's ask her」
Aya「I really don't know, ha,ha,ha. Like, have I told you how terribly poor I was at conversation. I haven't? It's like, I'm so poor at it...」
Hide「Ok」
Aya「Like, honestly, sometimes I feel so sad in the Bus」
Hide「I see. You know, you're so full of energy, I think you're making yourself down, you know. And when there's someone like that around, I feel it right away, that sadness..」
Aya「(sob)」
Hide「Were you thinking about something lonely? Recently, like what's wrong?」
Aya「(sob, sob, sob) I can't tell」
Hide「Right now, it's a bit like a "love match group date", you know. So I think it's hard for everybody to show their personality. Honestly. Like everybody is wearing foundation on their minds. No, really. Nobody is revealing their true self. Like, everybody is keeping their ideal self inside, and they'll keep doing that for a while. But given some time, they will loose that superficiality. If you feel there are times you should laugh even at trivial things,well you don't have to do that. If it's boring you should look bored, and only when it's fun you should be laughing. Otherwise, it's like you're not here, you know」
Aya「I can't, ha ha ha.」
Hide「See, you're smiling now」
Aya「I hate it. I can't talk」
Hide「You ok？You ok？」
Aya「I'm fine. Yes, yes. It's ok. I just wanted to talk to someone」
Hide「Really？From now on let's talk, ok?」
Aya「Sure」
Hide「Isn't this chair like, a bit high？」
Aya「I have no legs, they're too short. Maybe」
Hide「That's not it.This chair is too big」
Aya「Hey, Yours is the same.. Oh, never mind」
Hide「Did I just hurt your feelings ? If you could say now whether I hurt you, that would be honest」
Aya「You hurt my feelings」
Hide「No way... I'm so sorry」
Aya「Don't worry about it」

Soon, Aya had a smiling face again.

The next day, Hide and Aya were sitting next to each other.

Hide「Right, we strayed from that topic once, but aren't you from the "Hakusen nagashi"(Drama Title)'s generation.」
Aya「Yeah, that's right. It was shot very near my hometown」
Hide「Do you know who was singing the theme song?」
Aya「Ha, ha, it was Spitz」
Hide「That's right. They're good. Spitz is good」
Aya「Yeah, Spitz is good」
Hide「What albums do you have？」
Aya「Recycle」
Hide「No way！？」
Aya「Yeah. I'm sorry, I know it's a "Best Of"」
Hide「It's the first time I meet an Ainori member who has Spitz's Recycle, yeah」

Then...

Hide「Ok, guess which song I'm singing？Ta-la-la-la♪lala～lala～lala～♪la～lala～♪lala～lala～lala～♪」
Aya「I know, it's "Maple"」
Hide「Wow. You really know your stuff. That's great, you know」
Aya「It's on Recycle. It's the only album I know」

That song Hide really liked was 『Maple』, a Spitz song.

From Hide 's diary:“Great・・・Great・・・This was way beyond my expectations. Like, for me to have such feelings”

Aya , who had cried and opened her heart to Hide, had affected the chemistry between them and made him get this feeling.

Then...

Hide「Yeah, yeah, I think I'm falling for her. So ...I wanna become a couple and go back to Japan・・・Maybe, in the near future, I'll say the word. That "two letter" (note: Japanese kana = すき = su ki = I like you) word I've never said in those twelve countries. I think the day I'll say that word is close. That two letter word, that two letter word...」