Disclaimer: I do not own The iDOLMSTER: Dearly Stars.
Warning: There are snippets of spoilers mostly for Eri and Ryo sparkled throughout the whole fic. You've been warned.
The roaring crowd of fans, the flickering spotlights, and the powerful, strong, voice of his fellow idol – Hidaka Ai; Akizuki Ryo was quite accustomed to all of this by now. At first, being an idol (much less, a girl idol) was all weird to him; but now, he was just use to it all. A soft smile spread across his graceful-like features, as he hummed to the soft tune of ALIVE – which was the song that Ai was singing.
Tonight was a promotional concert that 876 Productions was holding – and it was one of Ryo's first since he revealed to his fans that he was a male. Surprisingly enough, it was well received – and he was quite relieved. Although, Ai and his other fellow 876 idol, Mizutani Eri were quite sceptical about it – that it lead to rather… events that Ryo did not wish to speak of ever.
His thoughts were drawn away from watching Ai's performance, as he heard voices coming from further on back stage. He crept away slowly, and neared the voices. He peered over a wooden tree prop – to catch sight of a blue-haired girl, with a clip shining in her hair, standing in front of a regal, brunette woman. He moved his head a bit more closely, barely catching some of their conversation.
"… The performance was great… Purigoku was liked by all."
"T-Thank you… Ozaki-san… Thanks to you…"
Ryo frowned, he shouldn't be doing this, but curiosity was always better than him – similar to his cousin Akizuki Ritsuko; but she seemed to have a better control on it than he did. He blinked, a cross look came across Ozaki's face, and Eri looked away a little bit.
"… Told them, have you?"
He couldn't hear the words escaped from Eri's mouth, before she bowed a little to her Producer – and soon started to walk away from her; towards the back door. He glanced over at where the young girl was going, a worried look crossing his face, and he moved away from the prop.
"Aaahhh, today is such a cold day…"
Akizuki Ryo breathed out as he opened the door to the office. He pulled on his scarf to loosen it, the effects of the heater finally kicking into his body. He went over to the corner, where the lockers were located, and opened his own. As he slid his scarf and bag he was holding in there – he heard a voice from the middle of the room, and a large crunching sound. "Good Morning, Ryo-san!"
Ryo smiled as he looked over at the middle of the room, "Good Morning, Ai-chan."
He greeted casually, and blinked a little as a brow rose. Ai merely had a pink short-sleeved sweater, a t-shirt, and a pair of shorts on. "Aren't you cold in that?"
Ai grinned from ear to ear, a fist coming up, and she puffed up her chest like she was showing some sort of courage or bravery, "Nope! The cold doesn't bring me down at all!"
Ryo laughed lightly, typical Ai, she was one who was never prone to the cold at all. It was quite the opposite with Eri – who was prone to being cold at the slightest drop in temperature. Speaking of Eri… "Ai-chan, Eri-chan hasn't come in yet?"
That was strange; Eri was always one of the earlier idols to come in. He saw her usually in the morning, before Ai barged in soon after he came in. Ai was crunching on some of her morning cereal as she looked up at Ryo, blinking a little, but then shook her head. "Nof I knof off" came a gurgled reply, as Ai finished properly chewing and swallowing, before giving him her actual statement.
"Not that I know of. Maybe Eri-chan slept in?" There was a pause, as Ai watched inquisitively as Ryo bit the bottom of his lip, looking away a little. She thought he was… kind of spaced out, maybe? She thought for a moment, before something clued in on her. "Oh! I found these sitting on the table; two Christmas gifts with no tags – just our names."
She passed Ryo a small, green, neatly, wrapped rectangle, with his name signed neatly on the front in black pen. Ryo raised a brow a little; Christmas was around the corner, but who was sending him a gift now? He looked up at Ai, as she showed him her own, wrapped rectangle – just in pink, and her own name signed on front. Ryo started to open it, as Ai blinked, before she shrugged.
"Mom always told me to save my gifts for Christmas, so I'm not opening mine…"
Ryo noted the slight pout at the end; she really wanted to know what she got too. He removed the wrap, and blinked. "Pu-ri-go-ku… Eri-chan's new CD that just came out?" He asked – although it was more of a statement towards him. Ai got up from her seat, and trotted over to look at Ryo's gift.
"Ahh! That's so cool! Someone sent you a first edition copy of Eri-chan's CD! Ooh! Ooh! I wonder what I got then!"
She was captivated by the present, and rushed over to where she left her package abandoned – shaking it furiously to see if she can hear anything. Ryo just laughed quietly at this, before he carefully opened the CD package and blinked. The CD was there (which is painfully obvious), but where the pamphlet was tucked away, there were two additional add-ons – a picture of him and Eri; which was taken a while ago, and then a small folded piece of paper.
He took the piece of paper and unfolded it. The neat hand-writing of Eri covered the paper. Ryo's face softened as he read through each word that was written on the paper. Eri often apologised in the note, but she was grateful for everything he – and what they have done together. From greeting each other in the morning, to going to the beach together, to what happened last night…
"And you just let her go? Just like that?"
"It was her decision, even if I'm her Producer, she insisted on it."
Ryo looked up from his letter, and Ai put down the package as they both glanced over at where the President's office was. The door opened, and it wasn't much of an argument that was going on, but a light dispute one could say. The shadowy figure of the President Ishikawa Minori and Ozaki Reiko emerged first; both of them refusing to look at each other (although Ryo and Ai could not really tell with the President). Behind them was the 876 production's office clerk, Okamoto Manami, who had a somewhat confused expression of her face – as she was somewhat caught in the middle of this.
"Good Morning, President."
Ai and Ryo immediately greeted; both getting up to bow respectively towards their superior. The President faced them, a nod, "Good Morning, Akizuki-kun, Hidaka-kun." She greeted back, as Ozaki walked passed both of them, heading towards the door.
Ryo straightened himself out, before turning towards where Ozaki walked passed him. "Umm… Excuse me, Ozaki-san… Do you know where Eri-chan is today?"
There was no immediate reply – in fact, it grew silent. Ryo could feel tension tightened with the air, what was wrong with this? It was just a simple question… Although Ozaki didn't turn around immediately, her hand fell on the door knob, slightly turning the object.
"… The airport."
There was a sound of a CD case dropping to the ground – and then silence that followed soon after.
Ryo opened the door quietly, and peered out into the pitch darkness of the night. Nothing really greeted his sight, until he fully stepped outside now, closing the door quietly behind him. He had to close one eye as a chilly, winter, wind blew by – causing shivers to go up his spine. He clutched onto the bare skin of his arms – perhaps wearing his costume without another layer of clothing was a bad idea…
He took another step forward, and he could see a faint silhouette just a mere metre in front of him. He easily made it out to be his fellow idol, Eri – who disappeared after her chat with Ozaki. Her back was facing towards him, and he outstretched an arm out – which nearly grazed her shoulder as she sharply turned around. A sharp gasp escaped both of their lips at the same time – and they just simply stared at each other.
Ryo finally snapped out of it, his hand returning to his side quickly, and he looked away in a bit of an embarrassment. "E-Eri-chan…! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that… I-I just came out here to check on you…?"
His voice quieted down near the end of his sentence, Ryo not really sure on what to say. Eri caught her breath quickly, before she nodded meekly, "I-I-I see…" She said under her breath, before shifting back around, looking towards the sky once more. Ryo blinked, and then approached the girl carefully – knowing how fragile Eri seemed to be most of the time. They stood side by side – staring up at the sky.
"… Are you okay, Eri-chan?"
Ryo finally asked after a period of silence. Eri seemed to shift uncomfortably, but a feeble (yet somewhat awkward) smile reached her lips. "… Yes, yes, I'm fine…"
Ryo bit his lip – what the heck does he do now? He swallowed some of the saliva that rested in his mouth, and took a deep breath. He let it out in a shuddering gasp, the cold getting the best of him now. "Th-the performance you did i-it was really good…!"
He started to say, although he was moving his arms up and down at the same time, trying to keep whatever heat he had inside of him trapped. His eyes broke away from the sky, to look at his colleague next to him. She seemed to shift a little, before nodding carefully. "Th-Thank you, it was… a bit of a challenge at first…"
The words seemed to be lost as Eri tried her best to reply. Ryo noticed this – and it dawned on him that Eri must not be… as sociable as he was – that, or there was also another motive behind that… Maybe something like hiding…
Nah, that can't be, he shouldn't press further with it. He rubbed the back of his neck, still shivering under the cold draft. "But you still did well!" He paused for a moment, trying to think of another topic, "I mean… Purigoku was it…? You wrote it all by yourself?"
He asked, and there was a slight giggle that escaped from Eri's lips. "Yes... Ozaki-san helped a lot as well, but I somehow managed to write it."
Ryo slowly nodded, that free-lance Producer that Eri seemed to be really fond of was always there for the blue-haired girl. Before he could go further with that topic, there was a slight sound of commotion coming from behind them – beyond the closed door to the back stage. Ryo blinked, and then it dawned on him again that it must be his performance next…! Oh crap he was going to be late! Eri seemed to catch notice of this as well – but before she could say anything, Ryo instantly babbled "I-I'm really sorry Eri-chan, I have to go now, everyone is waiting…!"
He turned around swiftly to take off, but a grip suddenly encircled around his wrist, and he turned around with a questionable look on his face – Eri…? The said girl was looking away, a tinge of red across her face, but her hand firmly (yet gently) around his wrist. "I-I uhmm… good… luck?"
She managed to finally say, and Ryo smiled gently. A hand was placed on top of hers that was around his other wrist, "… Thank you."
Eri's grip loosened, before Ryo started to go back to the backstage. The former net-idol however stood there, watching the fading back of Ryo, before she frowned a little, and looked away in a bit of a shame.
"… I'm sorry, Ryo-san."
"A-Are you sure, Ozaki-san, I-I mean… Shouldn't you be seeing Eri-chan as well?"
Ryo stepped outside of the car that Ozaki drove, and faced her. He had an anxious look on his face, trying to anticipate what was going to happen next. Ozaki shook her head; a smirk forced itself on her lips. "… We had our farewell already; besides, I can't just leave the car out in the middle of nowhere."
Ryo wasn't sure if that was meant to be a joke or not, but he didn't have time to think much on it, as Ozaki waved him away. "Go, before she's gone and you won't see her for a long time."
He nodded, a quick bow and thank you – before he quickly dashed into the airport.
Stepping closer towards the check-in area – Mizutani Eri couldn't help but look back towards the crowds of people trying to get closer as well. However, she looked beyond the crowds of people – perhaps towards the cloudy skies of Tokyo – she was going to miss it all. It was by pure chance that a producing company from across the seas got a hold of a sample of her Purigoku. She even thought that maybe her senpai (and trainer), Kisaragi Chihaya, may have played a part in it as well – seeing that she was overseas as well, in getting this once in a lifetime opportunity. It was to train overseas for a little while, then debut over there as well.
It was great for promotion – but Eri did it more for experience. She wanted to get better as a singer and dancer – and this was a chance she could not afford to miss. She also kept in touch with her senpai, which she too agreed to give her a hand across the seas. It was not all that bad for leaving… Although…
Eri frowned a little, was it right to leave without telling them? Just leaving them their Christmas gifts…
She heaved another heavy sigh, she was always encouraged to follow the path she chose – and she was going to go ahead with that. She turned around, going closer towards the check-in counter once more.
"E-Eri-chan…!!"
There was a sudden shout, which Eri whirled around in surprise at her name – and the familiarity in the voice that called her. She could see light brown hair bob amongst the crowds, pushing their way through to get to her; "R-Ryo-san…"
Indeed, it was one Akizuki Ryo who finally emerged in front of her – breathing heavily, and bent over slightly, hands holding his body up by pushing against his knees. "I-I-I thought I wasn't going to… make it…"
"Wh-What…" Eri started at first, but nearly backed up as a hand caught onto her wrist, and Ryo looked up from staring at the ground – seemingly catching most of his breath. "I-I didn't want to say good bye like that…"
He kept a firm grip on her wrist – yet gentle – similar to the one she gave him the previous night. He straightened out, staring at Eri. "… Eri-chan… I wanted to give this to you…" Ryo fished around in his pocket a little, before a slight jingle was heard, and he pulled out his hand, revealing a small, blue, plush, cat keychain. Eri was captivated by it – and Ryo, that she was not sure how to act – nor respond at first.
Ryo smiled a little, "It's your Christmas gift. Ai-chan and I both have similar, matching ones."
As he left the cat keychain in Eri's palm, he pulled out his cell phone from his bag, a similar plush cat dangling from it – except for the fact his was green. Eri stared in awe at it – as her hand started to curl around the one that Ryo gave to her. "… Ry-Ryo-san… Thank you."
Ryo shook his head, "Your welcome. I-It wasn't as creative as your gift, bu-but I had to give you something…!" He stammered out, suddenly it got a bit awkward between both of them – as he noticed the grip he kept on Eri's wrist. Eri noticed as well, and looked away in embarrassment as well, a tinge of red across her face.
"Y-you're… re-really lucky to get this opportunity…" Ryo finally said, trying to keep going with what he wanted to say, "Al-Although it's going to be lonely with just me and Ai-chan around…"
Another pause, as Ryo took a deep breath. "… Do keep in touch."
He slowly felt a pair of arms encircle his waist, and a head that buried itself within his shoulder – as he looked down to see the blue-haired girl moved forward rather quickly. "… Mm. I will." Came a rather quiet reply – but a satisfying one.
Eri moved away quickly, before she smiled at him – although a darker red hue was on her face now, "… See you."
Ryo blinked a little – the moment ending quicker than he had anticipated. "E-Eri-chan…!"
She stopped, throwing a glance behind her shoulder to see what he wanted to say. He just smiled.
"Merry Christmas!"
Notes: OH MAN PHEW. THIS WAS ONE HELL OF A PIECE TO WRITE.
And this will be one hell of a long authoress' notes, so be prepared 'yo. XD;
First and foremost, thank you for reading all of this! This was one of my first 'serious' piece of The iDOLMSTER: Dearly Stars, and kind of The iDOLMSTER in general – although I followed a lot of the spin-off stuff for this one specifically.
You can somewhat consider this an 'AU' (alternative universe), since there are a lot of key points I didn't really include that is in the actual Dearly Stars game – one of them being really critical to Ryo (if you don't want to be spoiled, feel free to skip this part), which is Yumeko. I've been told and read that Yumeko and Ryo actually start going out at the end of Ryo's story – or rather, in his 'best' ending. Although this piece took place at the end of their story mode (although I don't really know what happens in Ai's endings…), Yumeko was neither mentioned – nor talked about at all.
Uh. Well, being slightly biased for the Ryo and Eri pair – I couldn't figure out a way to kind of… mesh her in the piece.
It can also be considered 'AU' because the characters (at least in my opinion) feel a bit… out of character. I can't fully grasp the Dearly Stars character personalities – but this idea wouldn't stop bothering me, so I had to wing it and give it a try.
So my apologies to everyone if you really hated this because they were just that much out of there.
Uhh let's see what else to go over…
I-I can't really recall what I wanted to actually go over now… Oh crap…
I-I'll most likely update this when I recall it.
Anyways, thank you once more for reading, I really do appreciate feedback for this – and yes, it is a really obscure pair that I just wrote about. XD; Please, do enjoy, and have a good holiday!
(There also might be some mistakes, if you see any, point them out, and I'll fix them as soon as I can!)