Always Smiling, 200%
IDOLMASTER – Yayoi Takatsuki & Iori Minase
By Ikuto-sama
"Ooh! How does this look, Iori-chan?"
Yayoi Takatsuki spun around in an orange, springy dress, showing off for her best friend. The dress was a bright tangerine color with long light peach-striped sleeves, and a hood with a hamster face and ears. Along with the dress Yayoi wore orange-and-peach-striped thigh-high socks with orange high-top sneakers. It was a look that only Yayoi could pull off—bright and energetic, just like she was.
"Hibiki-san would probably like the hood, wouldn't she?" Yayoi laughed. "She always calls me her little hamster…"
"It looks good on you, Yayoi-chan," Iori said, smiling. "Are you going to get it?"
"Ah…" Yayoi's heart sank. She had forgotten all about price tags and the fact that they were in a specialty fashion boutique. It was one of Iori's favorite boutiques, which of course meant that there was no way Yayoi could afford it.
"It's…it's 25,000 yen," Yayoi said softly, cautiously checking the tag.
"I see," Iori nodded.
"I—I think I'll change now," Yayoi said quickly, rushing back into the dressing room.
"Okay. I'm going to look around for a bit, okay? Just tell me when you're done."
"Okay…"
Yayoi sadly changed back into her normal street clothes, an orange-and-yellow long-sleeved shirt and blue jean shorts.
Aww, I wish I could buy the outfit, but I'm not supposed to waste my money on frivolous things, Yayoi thought, wiping her eyes. I can't let myself get upset. I'm supposed to be always 200% genki!
Although Yayoi made a reasonable amount of money working as an idol, most of her money went to helping out her family. She was still very careful in deciding on what she spent money on, and pretty much anything that didn't go to her whole family was considered "frivolous." As much as Yayoi wanted the outfit, she couldn't buy such a fancy thing when her siblings didn't get new clothes either. It was only fair.
"Iori-chan, I'm ready—" Yayoi started, but stopped as soon as she saw what was in the bag in Iori's hands.
"Don't feel so embarrassed if you need help buying something, Yayoi-chan," Iori laughed, handing the bag over to Yayoi. "The owner of this boutique knows me very well. He's willing to cut a deal for my friends too, but I don't do this type of thing just for anyone…ni hi hi!"
"I—I can't accept this, really!" Yayoi exclaimed, handing the bag back to Iori. "It's too much…I'll probably never be able to pay you back…"
"I bought it for you. It's a gift. Now take it," Iori replied forcefully, shoving the bag back into Yayoi's hands.
"I—I can keep it?" Yayoi asked quizzically, glancing from the bag to Iori's face then back again.
"It's a gift, remember?" Iori smirked. "I only do nice things for my friends. Don't tell anyone about this, though, otherwise everyone will be coming to ask me to buy them stuff, okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm your friend!" Yayoi cheered, jumping up and down. "Thank you, Iori-chan! I'm so happy! High-touch!" Yayoi paused with her hand suspended in the air, waiting for Iori to high-five her back.
Iori stared at her friend for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You're so funny sometimes, Yayoi-chan!"
Iori had never met anyone that got so excited just after receiving some new clothes, but then again, it was rare Yayoi got new anything. Yayoi was part of a family of seven and her parents' jobs didn't pay well, so Yayoi often wore old, plain, baggy used clothing or even hand-me-downs from some of the older idols at 765pro. To Iori, shopping was a mere hobby to combat boredom, and she could afford all the latest styles and designer labels. She had never worn anything used in her life. Iori and Yayoi were like the city mouse and the field mouse, and Iori found it amusing that the two of them could be friends, yet live in completely different worlds.
"I'm getting a bit hungry, aren't you?" Iori asked. "Let's head over to the café across the street. I have something important I need to tell you, anyways."
The café they went to was one that suited Iori's tastes—of course, it was a high-class, expensive one. Yayoi felt totally out of place—she couldn't even recognize the names of some of the baked goods and drinks they had on the menu.
"Order anything, Yayoi-chan," Iori said. "Don't worry, I'll pay. It's nothing to me."
Yayoi was afraid she would be asking too much of Iori to order a whole strawberry pound cake, so she order a chocolate-almond croissant and a cup of hot chocolate. Iori ordered two chocolate éclairs and a small iced mocha. It was a warm day, so the girls settled on sitting outside.
"This is good," Yayoi said, smiling. "Thanks, Iori-chan."
Iori didn't answer. She stared off into space, frowning, as if something were troubling her.
"Iori-chan?" Yayoi repeated.
"Oh, sorry," Iori sighed. "I was just…thinking of how to start..."
She took a sip of her iced mocha and cleared her throat. "You know how Ritsuko-san is working to become a producer, right?"
"Oh yeah! I wonder who she'll produce?" Yayoi replied. "Will they be new idols? Ehehe, I'm already excited to meet them!"
"Well, you see, I was talking to Ritsuko-san the other day," Iori said softly. "And there won't be new idols."
"But how can she—" Yayoi stopped, her eyes widening in silent realization. She wants to produce one of us, she thought, her heart sinking. And the person she wants to produce might be…
"Ritsuko-san called me for a meeting the other day," Iori said, gazing up to meet Yayoi's eyes. "And she asked me if I wanted to be part of the new idol group she'll be debuting, Ryuuguu Komachi."
"Ryuuguu Komachi…" Yayoi breathed, letting the new information sink in.
"I accepted her offer," Iori said. "I enjoy working with Producer-san, but I feel… 'stuck' might be the best word to use in this situation. I want to move my idol career to the next level, and Ritsuko-san offered me the lead singer position in the group. I saw this as my best chance. I couldn't say no."
"I see," Yayoi said quietly.
"I enjoyed working with you and Mami-chan, but it's time for me to move on," Iori said. "Azusa-san and Ami-chan will be working with Ritsuko-san as well. I…I'm sorry, Yayoi-chan."
"Why be sorry? I'm so happy for you, Iori-chan!" Yayoi cheered. "Ooh, I'm so excited for you already! You're a popular idol and you have a nice voice, so of course Ritsuko-san would pick you to be the lead singer. This—this is great, though! High-touch!"
Iori paused, taken aback from her friend's surprisingly positive response, and high-fived Yayoi back.
"But Yayoi-chan—I won't be working with you at all anymore," Iori said. "We'll—we'll become…rivals."
"Oh…" Yayoi replied softly, crestfallen. "Rivals? But we both work for 765pro. That doesn't make sense…"
"It's a bit complicated. I'm not necessarily working under 765pro since I'm working for Ritsuko-san now," Iori said. "But Ritsuko-san still does exchanges with 765pro. I guess you could say Ryuuguu Komachi is a sort of subsidiary of 765pro."
Yayoi was confused. "Like…separated, yet somehow connected? Like friendly rivals?"
"Something like that," Iori nodded. "But there's also another thing I need to tell you, Yayoi-chan…Ritsuko-san has requested that in the next Idol Ultimate, you and I compete against each other. Producer-san thought it was a good idea too, and agreed to it…"
"Really?" Yayoi gasped. "But this is so sudden…"
"It was supposed to be kept a secret, actually," Iori said. "But I thought you deserved to know in advance. You're my best friend, after all."
"Wow, Iori-chan…that's…so nice of you," Yayoi said graciously. She wasn't sure if Iori had shown this type of kindness to anyone else besides her.
"I'm capable of doing nice things, you know!" Iori exclaimed, flustered. "But just be sure not to tell anyone, okay? No one is supposed to know you'll be competing in the Idol Ultimate, let alone that Azusa-san, Ami-chan, and I will be working for Ritsuko-san now. If Producer-san or Ritsuko-san catch word of this, it's over."
"I promise," Yayoi nodded. Inside, she felt a mixture of emotions—sadness, anger, shock, happiness, excitement, and anticipation. She couldn't help but walk to the other side of the table and hug her best friend.
"Iori-chan…just promise me one thing. We'll be friends no matter what. This won't change," Yayoi whispered.
"Of course, Yayoi-chan," Iori giggled. "But just because I'm your friend doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"
"Well I'm not going to lose!" Yayoi laughed.
Please, don't let this change, Yayoi thought. The two of us…always smiling, 200%…I don't want to lose that.
Yayoi sat off in a far corner, stretching, as she recalled her day with Iori a few weeks ago.
I wonder where Iori-chan is now, she thought, looking around the room. Most of the girls around her looked to be about 16-17 years old; closer to Haruka, Makoto, and Yukiho's ages than her own.
"Are you ready, Yayoi-chan?" Producer-san asked.
"Of course," Yayoi replied coolly. "Ah, look, there's Iori-chan!"
Iori, wearing her usual pink warm-up suit, spotted Yayoi and continued towards her, Ritsuko following.
"Ah, Iori-chan!" Yayoi greeted.
"Good morning," Iori replied. "Doesn't it seem like there are a lot of girls in the competition today? More than usual..."
"I guess so," Yayoi said. She hadn't noticed, but she and Iori looked to be the youngest girls competing. "Um…good luck!"
"You too," Iori nodded.
The two girls stood together in silence for a few moments, mentally preparing themselves for the harrowing competition ahead. Yayoi could feel the tension start to grow between them, but tried to take her mind off of it by listening to Ritsuko and Producer-san's conversation as they exchanged some friendly banter.
"Iori-chan, we should get going now," Ritsuko said. "It was nice seeing you, Producer-san. You too, Yayoi-chan. Good luck."
"See you later, Yayoi-chan," Iori said, waving, then followed after Ritsuko.
Yayoi continued to stretch as Producer-san gave her the usual pep talk, ending in a "high-touch." Yayoi looked up at a large screen displaying the competing idols' names, and saw that she was in the first group.
ROUND ONE GROUP ONE: Performing at 10:30am
1. 765 Productions – Takatsuki Yayoi
2. 765-Ryuuguu Komachi – Minase Iori
3. BNG Productions – Utatane Rei
4. 981 Productions – Morimoto Riku
5. A&C Angels – Miharu Natsuki
6. 816 Productions – Tsubaki Hana
"All idols in the first round are requested to report to the stage now, ready to perform. Good luck everyone!" the intercom blared.
"All right, Yayoi-chan, let's do this," Producer-san said, smiling. "Good luck! I'll be waiting, cheering for you."
Yayoi gave Producer-san a high-five then bounded onto the stage. Although she generally felt nervous at first, she was so used to being on stage now it felt like home. The idols lined up neatly on the stage as the judges looked at each of them. Just as Yayoi had guessed, the other idols competing were all older than her and Iori. Iori was towards the end of the line and Yayoi glanced at her, but Iori kept staring straight ahead.
"All right, are you guys excited for this?" the dance judge, also the announcer, shouted into the microphone, the audience responding with a loud cheer. The other judges clapped politely, but they seemed more serious than he was.
"As you all know, each of you will be performing a 1½ -2-minute music piece. We'll be judging you based on your dance, visual, and vocal performance, and will give you points based on those performances. The two girls with the most points in this group will advance to the final round. There will be three rounds in this competition, and a fourth finals round. So give us a good show!" the dance judge explained. "First up performing is…Takatsuki Yayoi from 765 Productions, with 'Kiramekirari!'"
Yayoi did a few cartwheels in front of the judges and jumped up and down, waving excitedly at the audience. "I'm Yayoi, always 200% genki! I hope you enjoy my performance!"
"At this time, we ask all other idols to exit the stage," the dance judge said. "Now…hit the music!"
"Kiramekirari" was one of Yayoi's most popular songs. She usually performed it at Idol Ultimates since it pumped up the audience and was a judge favorite—a surprising fact, since it was a fast-paced, energetic, slightly "childish" song. However, the dance routine for Kiramekirari was one of the most complicated, and Yayoi had it down to even the slightest movement, putting on the best performance.
"Fure fure ganbare! Saa ikou! Fure fure ganbare! Saikou!"
The audience immediately erupted into cheers upon hearing the song, and all of the judges nodded, scribbling furiously on their clipboards. Yayoi was now entering her special zone—clearing her mind of anything and everything but the lyrics and movements.
Just keep going, Yayoi thought. Just 2 minutes and I'll be on top!
"Guitar solo come on!" Yayoi sang, winking, trying her best to appeal to the judges. The dance judge gave her a thumbs-up sign and the vocal and visual judges were smiling. None of the judges were even bothering to scribble down notes on their clipboards, which Yayoi took as a good sign.
Yayoi kept up her pace. She was nearing the end of the song—a flawless performance, until she felt her feet slip from under her. She managed to catch herself before she fell, but the judges had seen it, and were now back to writing on their clipboards.
"Tokimekirari kitto kyun tto Kagami o mireba cho RABURII!
Tokimekirari gutto gyuttoWatashi ha watashi ga daisuki! Yay!
Fure fure ganbare! Saa ikou! Fure fure ganbare! Saikou!Fure fure ganbare! Saa ikou! Fure fure ganbare! Saikou!"
"Takatsuki Yayoi from 765 Productions, scoring a 26 out of a total possible 30 points with 'Kiramekirari!'" the dance judge shouted as the audience cheered. "Let's give a nice, loud cheer for Yayoi! You did great!"
Yayoi bowed and waved then quickly got off the stage. Iori was performing next.
"Great performance out there, Yayoi-chan!" Producer-san cheered, raising his hand up in the air. "Um…high-touch!"
"I messed up and got a bad score," Yayoi sighed, ignoring him. "26 out of 30…"
"26 out of 30 isn't a bad score at all," Producer-san said. "Your mistake was minor. I doubt the audience even noticed it."
"But the judges did, and they're what's important," Yayoi said, shaking her head.
She couldn't help but worry. Although Iori was her friend and she wanted her to succeed, it would kill her to see Iori advance and her stay behind. Yayoi felt her heart wrench, and a strange sensation pulsed through her body. Yayoi hated to admit it, but she hoped Iori would mess up somehow, just like she did. She was…jealous.
Is this what friendly rivalry feels like? Yayoi thought.
"Come on, let's go sit in the lobby and watch the other performances," Producer-san said, wrapping his arm around Yayoi. "I'll buy you an ice cream cone. How does that sound?"
"Okay," Yayoi nodded.
As soon as Yayoi got to the lobby and took her seat, Iori's performance began.
"You all are lucky to see a cute idol like Iori perform, and Iori is the best! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Iori's beautiful performance, so don't let it slip away! Enjoy it! Ni hi hi! "
"Ooh, I like the sound of that!" the dance judge laughed. "Now, here's Miss Minase Iori from 765-Ryuuguu Komachi, with 'SMOKY THRILL!'"
"Shiranu ga hotoke hottokenai Kuchibiru poker face Yododai motokurashi Do you know!
Uwasa no Funky girl"
Yayoi gasped. She'd never heard Iori sing this song before, but she was automatically mesmerized. It appeared to have the same effect on the judges, who were watching Iori's performance intently. The audience roared with cheers.
"Here you go, Yayoi-chan," Producer-san said as he returned, handing Yayoi a small vanilla ice cream cone. He turned to the TV screen. "Ah, it's Iori-chan…"
"Producer-san…what do you think?" Yayoi asked quietly.
"I think that Ritsuko-san's doing very well handling her new job as a producer," Producer-san said. "But I guess you could say she's had a bit of an advantage. She's studied every 765pro idols' performances, including her own. Since she knows dancing is your strength, she's put an emphasis on that in Iori-chan's performance. Iori-chan's done a lot of training."
"Yeah…" Yayoi sighed, taking a lick of her ice cream.
"But you shouldn't worry about that, Yayoi-chan," Producer-san said. "I know you're the better idol, and will come out on top in the end. When Ritsuko-san asked if she could take Iori-chan, I said yes. But if she had asked for you…I would have said no. You have a wonderful charm and a vast amount of talent and potential, Yayoi-chan, and I can't just let that go."
Yayoi paused for a moment, letting all of the information sink in. Wait—Producer-san thinks I'm a better idol than Iori-chan? she thought, surprised. If Producer-san believes in me, I shouldn't give up. I should keep trying and aim for top idol, even if Iori-chan stands in my path!
"Thank you, Producer-san!" Yayoi said, smiling. She raised her hand up. "High-touch!"
"High-touch!" Producer-san laughed, returning the gesture.
Yayoi turned back to the TV screen, only to hear, "…And that concludes Minase Iori's stellar performance, with a perfect 30 out of 30!"
"Don't worry about it, Yayoi," Producer-san said.
"I know…" Yayoi nodded. "Wait—you just called me 'Yayoi!'"
"I know that," Producer-san said. "I'm calling you Yayoi now…because I truly believe in you."
Yayoi ended up lucky. All of the idols that had performed after her had made more mistakes, although their performances had paled in comparison to Iori's and her own anyways. One of the idols came close to surpassing her, but due to flubbing the chorus at the end of the song, ended up with a score of 25 out of 30. Yayoi was in the final round—but this time, there was no room for mistakes.
"You'll do fine, Yayoi," Producer-san said, smiling. "Even if things don't turn out the way you want, the fact you performed your best is all that matters."
"Of course, Producer-san," Yayoi said.
Filled with a new sense of confidence, she was ready to put out her best on stage.
I can win this Idol Ultimate, Yayoi thought, clenching her fists. I'll do my best…no matter what happens, I'll always keep smiling, 200%!
"Now's your chance, Yayoi," Producer-san said, giving Yayoi a gentle shove out onto the stage. "Go for it!"
For the final round, all of the idols would perform on-stage at the same time, doing an improvisational performance to a pre-selected song chosen by the judges. It would be a sudden-death elimination—one mistake and the idol would have to exit the stage. More focus was put into the dance and visual aspects of the competition, but the idols had to learn the song and sing along to it. Today, the idols would be performing "THE IDOLMASTER," a song Yayoi knew by heart, since it was originally in the 765pro rotation anyways.
Yayoi made sure to space herself away from the other idols, but also made sure she was in a good area so the judges could see her performance. She glanced to her right, and saw that Iori was standing about six feet away.
"Iori-chan," Yayoi whispered. "Good luck."
Iori looked up for only a second, meeting Yayoi's eyes, and Yayoi swore she mouthed 'You too.'
"Now, let the music play!"
Yayoi quickly slipped into the rhythm, and decided it was best to start out on the offensive, appealing to the judges by the second measure of the song. She let the music take her away—it was as if the other idols, the audience, and even the judges didn't exist. It was just her and the music, at one with the beat. She didn't have to glance over to know that Iori was right in time with her, proving to be tough competition. They were getting into the middle of the song, and Yayoi saw two of the idols were already out. There were only four of them left.
"Honno sasai na kotoba ni kizutsuita
Dakedo amaimono tabete shiawase yo
Kimagure ni tsukiau no mo taihen ne
Warui to wa omou kedo yamerarenai…"
It wasn't long until another idol made a mistake, and she was out. Only three left, and two of them were Yayoi and Iori. Yayoi tried to pick up the pace, even throwing out some of the moves that Makoto had taught her, and that seemed to catch the judges' attention. Yayoi saw the idol to her left take a bad fall, and she was, of course, out. It was Yayoi against Iori.
Keep going, Yayoi thought. Don't think about anything. Just keep pushing…a little bit farther...
"Atarashii mono daisuki kuwashii no
Kigen toru ni wa naniyori PUREZENTO
Otoko de wa taerarenai itami demo
Onna nara taeraremasu tsuyoi kara…"
The audience was on its feet now, roaring and cheering. Even the judges were standing up, yelling out their own chants and cheers—not necessarily model behavior. Yayoi finished out strong, giving a twirl and blowing a kiss towards the audience, before bowing. She looked to her right. Iori ran toward her and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.
"You won," Iori whispered in Yayoi's ear.
"And the winner is…Takatsuki Yayoi! Congratulations!" the dance judge shouted, and the audience roared even louder. "What wonderful, stellar performances from all of the ladies that performed today…Yayoi, you are the winner of the Idol Ultimate!"
The audience called for an encore of 'Kiramekirari,' and Yayoi delivered. Afterwards, Yayoi headed back to the lobby to get ready to go back to the 765pro office.
"Congratulations, Yayoi," Producer-san said. "You did great out there!"
"Thank you!" Yayoi said, giving a slight bow.
"I must say, that was quite a performance!" Yayoi turned around to see Ritsuko and Iori.
"You did wonderful out there, Yayoi. I was surprised," Ritsuko laughed. "I guess we have a bit more training to do, don't we?"
Iori nodded. "I enjoyed performing out there with you, Yayoi-chan."
"I'm sorry, Iori-chan," Yayoi replied. She knew that when Ritsuko said "training," she meant hell training. When you've done extra training with Ritsuko once, you'll never want to do training with her again.
"It's fine, it's fine. You wanted it more than I did," Iori said, giving a wave of her hand. "But as for next time…I don't plan on losing."
"I'll try going easy on you next time," Yayoi giggled. "But not really!"
"It's on, Yayoi!" Iori laughed.
"'Yayoi?'" Yayoi asked quizzically. "Is it okay if I call you 'Iori?'"
"Of course," Iori replied. "Because we'll always be friends, right?"
"Yes, we'll always be friends," Yayoi said, nodding. "Always smiling…200%."
~ALWAYS SMILING, 200% - END~
© 2011 Ikuto-sama