I'm-a breakin' mah three-year posting silence...! Let it be known in advance that I have never played any sort of iDOLMSTER game. I am going purely off of what I can gather from other people, translations, and fanart! So, if I make a mistake, that is my excuse.
"Tomorrow's the big day. You two should take it easy for now, so I'll be letting you off earlier than usual. Try not to overwork yourselves."
"Of course, of course."
"Understood."
The Producer glanced very briefly at Chihaya. "Well, if you're sure," he said, and then excused himself to attend a meeting.
She felt, very faintly, as if she had just been made fun of.
"Actually, Azusa-san..."
"Yes? What is it?"
"I wanted to try something different with the song...would you run through it with me?"
"Something different? How interesting! You are always thinking of these things, Chihaya-chan."
"Yes, well...it has to do with the emphasis on some of the notes..."
The two of them moved to an empty room to experiment with the song. At Chihaya's suggestions, they made subtle changes to the delivery of certain lines, over and over again. Nothing appeared to fit, which was beginning to make her angry.
"Well?" Azusa tilted her head at her. The sound of her voice made Chihaya look up. "What's next?"
"I don't know...I'm beginning to think that what we did last time might have been better. Could we try it again?"
Azusa laid a hand against her cheek. "My, my...wouldn't it be better if we sang it as it was written?"
"But it doesn't...sound right."
She couldn't explain it, she felt something...lacking...in the music. She had hoped that she could have found the problem, but none of the variations were helping. All of them had their own problems.
"Chihaya-chan, could it be that you're nervous?"
What?
"It isn't that."
"You're nervous," Azusa repeated, folding her hands together. "That's normal. But I think it would be better if you didn't worry about it so much."
"It isn't that! We should be improving the music. It can be made better!"
Azusa's smile fell ever so slightly. Then she walked over to Chihaya so that they were standing very close to each other. The smaller girl stiffened a bit in confusion.
"Here, like this -" Azusa pushed her fingers through Chihaya's, their palms meeting.
"What - what are you -"
Azusa held up their hands so that they were between them and rested her forehead on Chihaya's. Her eyes closed serenely. "Relax..."
Chihaya could not find any way to protest, though she found this a bit too close and sudden for comfort. Azusa's face was hovering so close - their noses were barely grazing - that she was having trouble focusing her eyes. After a few seconds of blinking uselessly, she closed her eyes.
"Listen to your breathing, if that helps."
With her eyes closed, Chihaya did find that it was easier to focus on herself. Without her vision distracting her, she was clearly aware of her body, that of Azusa's close by, and the points of contact between them. Slowly, her shoulders rolled down and she untensed...which came as a surprise, because she wasn't aware that she was tense in the first place.
"There's no use in worrying about it now. Tomorrow, we'll do our best with what we've settled on before. That's all."
"...Right. You're right."
765 Production was not particularly well known until the clever producer debuted two of its greatest vocal talents - Chihaya Kisaragi and Azusa Miura - together as the "Blue Dreams" unit. There were high hopes for the two of them within the production, but their immediate popularity caught everyone by surprise. Though they were technically low-ranked, they had a fanbase that rivaled some of the more established, higher-ranking idols.
It seemed that overnight, everyone knew about 765 pro. There was enough interest and demand to see more that they formed two other paired units - Pale Dawn and Love Mission - but neither of them captured the instant success that the Blue Dreams had.
It was almost like a miracle, but Chihaya did not believe in miracles. The Blue Dreams' rise had everything to do with the effort that she and Azusa put in. If their initial success was a blessing, then it was only natural that they continue to work for that honor. There were no excuses for letting up.
The two of them continued to sing. Their progress up the idol ranking was slow, but their popularity continued to rise at a steady rate.
Eventually, as they always did, the leading trends began to change. No longer could the masses be satisfied with vocal talent. The fans wanted to see them dance.
Chihaya did not particularly like to dance.
Azusa possessed a rather unique incompetancy when it came to dancing.
Regardless, the Blue Dreams had to adjust. The Producer seemed to be up to something, a something he did not elaborate on. What he did make very clear, however, was that their next song had a particularly involved dancing routine, and if their new training schedule was any indication, he was determined to turn them into dancing masters. The next few days were filled with drills and run-throughs.
"Ara -"
"Ah -!"
Azusa had fallen down again.
Ritsuko, who was overseeing their drill for the day, solemnly chewed a bit more on her bubble gum. "Well, that can't be helped. Alright, let's take it again from the top."
Chihaya was helping Azusa to her feet. The older woman's eyebrows were pinched together as she limped to a standing position. "...I think -"
Ritsuko briefly blew a bubble in a thoroughly unimpressed manner.
"I think I might have twisted my ankle a little bit..."
"We'll have to put some ice on it, then."
"Ah, no - I think it's alright, it'll be fine."
Ritsuko leaned forward with her hands on her hips, frowning. "We'll need to put some ice on it. Furthermore, Chihaya, you don't turn your head like that when your partner makes a mistake."
"Right...!"
"It's bad enough when one girl trips up. But if every single member in the unit reacts, then the penalty is higher."
A silence hung in the air as Ritsuko walked out to get the ice. Chihaya called after her: "What should we do if we do make a mistake, then?"
Ritsuko paused and turned her head. "Put on your biggest smile as you get back into the routine. And stop making mistakes."
The Producer had them entered into a ranking competition using their new song. He had also given them new outfits - instead of the dark, conservative "pretty" dresses that the Blue Dreams usually performed in, they were clad in the brighter, more exposed "cool" outfits.
Chihaya's hands kept wandering from her neck to her very bare stomach. Before, the difference between hers and Azusa's body types were not very apparent, but like this...it was very obvious. Just standing next to Azusa made her feel...small.
"Chihaya -"
She snapped to attention. "Yes, Producer!"
"I just said, do your best. You two better get backstage now. I'll be with you in a minute."
The Producer's words were not registering completely in Chihaya's mind. That was strange, she was usually quite focused when it came to performances. She had to be lead by Azusa to the prep area backstage.
"Isn't this exciting, Chihaya-chan? It's nice to see idols from other productions."
"Yes," Chihaya answered idly, glancing out of the gap in the curtain to the performing group onstage. There were three girls, all of them petite and dressed in bold warm colors. They were stepping rhythmically to their song, but there was something about it that was bothering her...
"That is a cute dance," Azusa said as she looked over Chihaya's head.
"Yes," Chihaya repeated, though she didn't really agree.
"Chihaya-chan, if you keep pinching your mouth like that, you'll ruin your lipstick. Turn around -"
Chihaya complied, allowing Azusa to dab at the sides of her mouth with a towel. When she was finished, Azusa held Chihaya at arm's length, smiling at her. Chihaya's expression was cool.
"Azusa-san, I'm not wearing any lipstick."
"Oh." Azusa's smile fell. "Is that right?"
Chihaya glanced back at the stage again. Something about the performance wasn't sitting right with her, but she could not figure out why.
"Don't you think it's strange? The one on the right is scuffing the floor every time she picks up her foot. That's not a very natural movement."
"Well, her sandals are slightly too big, aren't they? She must be stepping harder in order to adjust."
That was true, but it was still all very bizzare.
"Come now," Azusa placed her hands on Chihaya's shoulders to turn her around again. She touched their foreheads together, and Chihaya brought their hands together in response, like they had done many times before. "You are creating phantoms. Clear your mind."
Right. Right, Chihaya thought as she concentrated on the darkness behind her eyelids.
...Azusa's grip was a bit stiffer than usual. Chihaya gently squeezed their hands reassuringly, and felt Azusa press in return.
There was a familiar male voice approaching. "-talk to you later. Keep up with the lesson." He must have been on the phone.
Chihaya opened one eye to look at the Producer, who seemed pleasantly surprised. He had a light grin.
"Are you two meditating?"
"Oh! You're back."
"Psyching yourselves up for the competition, I'm guessing. There's nothing to worry about. You two have been more than ready to move on up. You're at an entirely different level than everyone else here."
Well, we would be, Chihaya thought quickly, if this was only about singing.
"When you're done, I've got a surprise for you, okay?" Producer ruffled Chihaya's hair slightly. "Looks like you're up."
"Let's go, Chihaya-chan!"
Chihaya suddenly realized her head was spinning. There was something - something very wrong with all of this, a bad feeling, that she couldn't shake. She almost stammered out some sort of protest, but they were already heading to the stage...they were on the stage...there wasn't anything to be done about it now.
I have to focus, she thought intently, gripping those words, and they kept flowing in her mind over and over. Every motion that she and Azusa were making seemed slightly slower than usual - was the music also slower? It seemed like it.
Keep stepping, she had to keep stepping...she was worried for Azusa, who was standing right over that place that the girl kept scuffing at (why was she so worried about that?) and...was she having trouble with the dance?
At that moment, the only thing Chihaya could think of was Ritsuko's advice. The penalty is higher...if the rest of the unit reacts.
So when Azusa did slip, Chihaya fought not to turn. And yet - there was just something wrong -
And then there was a strange crack.
"wha - Azusa-san!"
"Azusa-san!"
The music, the lights, everything seemed to stop a few split seconds too late, as if for a moment, everything had refused to acknowledge what just happened. Azusa was curled up, clutching just above her foot, which was pointing entirely in the wrong direction.
Chihaya was only barely aware of the commotion in the area as she knelt by Azusa. The older woman was trembling, eyes tightly shut, fighting tears. The Producer delicately laid a hand on her shoulder as he fumbled with his cell phone to call for help. Azusa opened her eyes at the touch, looking around without direction for a moment.
"A...Azusa-san?"
There was an apology in Azusa's expression as she looked up to Chihaya.
"I think...that I'll be needing more than just a bit of ice, don't you think?"