"Cookies? Again? It's not that I don't appreciate them, Rise, but what's the occasion?" Yu asked as he folded the brown bag, closing it.
"Nothing! I just bake when I'm stressed, that's all." She looked down, pouting ever so slightly.
"But I saw you giving Yosuke a bag of these yesterday, and Yukiko the day before. Are you okay?"
Rise paused, thinking hard on her answer. "I'm okay. At least, I will be. I'm sure of that. It's just... I'm thinking about making a comeback. You know, as Rizette. Just smaller, with less of the idol facade. Less of the flashy dresses, the backup dancers, the game shows... Something more manageable, that doesn't seem manufactured. I mean, I know that the manufactured idol Rizette is still a part of me, but I have so much more to offer than just that. I always wrote my own music, you know? But nobody ever really believed that because to them I was 'just' an idol."
"I'm not exactly an expert at this, but I think it's a great idea. I don't see why it's causing you this much stress."
"Because there's a flip side. There always is." Rise said, smiling bitterly. "Most of my fans love me because of the idol persona I put on, pardon the pun, and I'm scared that I'll lose them if I change up my act. I'd fade into obscurity and lose my livelihood as an artist."
"Honestly, if your fans love you only for your idol persona, nice pun by the way, they weren't worthy of you in the first place. If you do fade into obscurity, you'll be left with the fans who appreciate you for you."
Rise giggled. "Seriously, Yu? You sound like you're talking about them like they're lovers or something."
"Well, they claim to love you, don't you? This is just a suggestion, but what I think I'd do if I were a teenage idol is to shave down my fan base until I was left with only the ones who really care and then build back up from there. Sure, you might make less money than before, but at least your artistic integrity would be left intact. Besides, you could keep your day job at your grandma's store before the Rizette thing picks back up again."
"You know, that actually doesn't sound that bad." She said, sounding much more relaxed than before.
"And, hey, we'll always be there to support you. Every step of the way. Kanji could be your scary bodyguard. You just have to promise me one thing."
"And what would that be?"
"For the love of all that is sacred, no more cookies."
At that, Rise let out a bout of loud, genuine laughter. "Okay, you've got it, Narukami. No more cookies."