"Sakurauchi Riko desu."

She was used to saying it quietly, politely. Her experience had always been with new schools or with piano recitals, so it only made sense to say her name as if she was introducing herself. Even when they were practicing their stage spiels, it didn't feel wrong for her to just do it like usual.

Chika puffed up, turning to her with a pout. "No, no, Riko-chan!" she said, "Something's wrong! You're an idol now! Say your name like everyone already knows you!" The routine the three of them had practiced involved the three of them linking hands and stretching them over their heads. Perhaps the reason Chika caught on and got so upset was because the awkward bow Riko attached to her piece was made more awkward with their hands clasped together like that. You had already retired to the bed, but even in her temper, Chika had forgotten to untangle her fingers from Riko's.

You, sitting with her hands stretched behind her back now on the bed, shrugged. "I don't know, Chika-chan. Aren't some idols supposed to be more humble? If we have microphones, it should be fine." She gave a supportive smile over at Riko. Somehow, that just made her feel embarrased - like she was beinf consoled because she couldn't be as energetic as Chika wanted her to be... not that she would argue against that.

Chika finally let go of her hand, rushing forward and doing a little twirl to face the other two of them. "But wouldn't it suit her? I'm sure everyone would be really impressed if she went up and said..." Before continuing, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, cupping her hands around her mouth and giving You just enough time to prepare by shielding her ears. Riko was still left in the crossfire as she shouted, "SHE'S ALL THE RAGE RIGHT NOW! THE SPARKLING SAKURAUCHI RIKO DEEEEEEEEEESUU!"

After she finished, she opened her eyes and looked at Riko with a grin. Riko thought this was another one of those moments where Chika's eyes burned into her skin and it felt like she somehow knew what she was capable of more than she did herself. Rather, it felt like Chika believed she was capable of anything, and it was hard not to get sucked in. Chika was basically just a walking bundle of these moments. Riko was already sure she was pushing herself to be something she couldn't be, and now Chika kept on telling her that she could do MORE? And worse, she was almost credible... It just wasn't fair. Riko didn't have much time to dwell on the moment before Chika's sister burst down the door and scolded the screaming.

Later that evening, back in her house, Riko snuck away into the bathroom. She had brought a few pillows with her, stuffing them under the doorway so that sound wouldn't escape. She was sure the walls were thick enough to keep her voice restrained. All of this wasn't really necessary, of course, since her parents were out shopping right now.

She walked over to the mirror, gripping her hands tightly on the sink. She took a deep breath. "Sa-" She froze. She looked herself in the eyes and saw them go wide from the nerves. She was all alone! Why was she so nervous? Was this the way that she looked when she froze at her recital? It was pathetic.

She fell into a heap on the ground for a moment, bundling herself up. Surely the reason that Chika believed she was capable of so much was because she had never seen that face of hers before. Wasn't this supposed to be fun? Isn't that what Chika promised?

Suddenly, she stood up, balling her hands into fists. Fine then. If her own face staring back at her was too intimidating, then she'd change the scenery. At the very least, she figured she would show Chika this side of her so she would hold back on trusting her capabilities too much and getting let down. She stormed out of the room, almost tripping over the jam she had placed in the door herself, and quickly made her way to the balcony in her bedroom.

"CHIKA!" she cried, loudly.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before she heard the hinges of the neighboring window, watching as Chika appeared, rubbing her eyes. Was she taking a nap this early in the evening? That was beside the point! Riko had one shot to do this before the sudden burst of energy passed. She took a deep breath.

"SAKURAUCHI RIKO DEEEEEEEEEEEESUU!"

She screamed for as long as she could, closing her eyes and gripping the wooden railing so tight that it hurt her hands. She could almost feel tears well up in her eyes as she held her voice steady. Finally, it gave out.

She... She did it. She wasn't expecting that.

She kept her eyes closed for another few seconds until she heard clapping, opening them to see Chika with the biggest smile she had ever seen on anyone. It was truly an idol's smile. It was all for her.

After several minutes of Riko awkwardly trying to explain herself, being constantly interrupted by Chika's insistence of how amazing she was, the two of them parted ways and Riko collapsed into her bed. She looked up at the ceiling, rolling around in a shamble of nerves as she tried to get that goofy grin of Chika's out of her head so that she could rest without her heart nearly beating out of her chest.

Then, a thought came into her head. It started as a joke - or maybe less than that, just an accidental rearrangement of the various other words tumbling through her brain - but soon her face went red as she desperately tried to forget it and only ended up making it worse. She realized that she couldn't stop herself now unless she said it out loud, so she turned onto her chest and buried her face into her pillow, wrapping it around her head so it covered her ears. She felt it would be less embarrassing if she couldn't hear herself say it. It was quiet and muffled. Most of all, it was formal, like an introduction.

"Takami... Riko desu."

After writhing about in her own embarrassment, unable to fight off a smile, she realized she only had her face buried into ONE pillow. She would have to grab those other ones from the bathroom before her parents got home.