There is a knife in Maizono Sayaka's hands but her reflection in it isn't distorted and ugly, like the time she and her friends went to a fun house and she caught sight of herself in one of the mirrors. It's just her, the same Sayaka she's seen staring back at her every day of her life. More tired, she thinks, frowning at the bags under her eyes. Almost lowers the knife, thinks about leaving it out on the bedspread as innocuously as you would clothes, because to be an idol means you can never look anything less than perfect. It's just instinctual; to want to cover up any perceived imperfections. But she stops herself from applying concealer because oh, tired is good. Tired is useful. The key to being truly convincing in a role is attention to detail, after all, and the most minuscule of them can make or break the performance of a lifetime.

Maybe she's being silly. She probably won't even have to sell it that hard; this is Naegi and he's so devoted to her that some teary eyes and a trembling voice will be all he needs to be eating out the palm of her hand. Sayaka has always been a perfectionist in everything she does though and why should this-lying, betrayal, murder-be any different?

There is a flash of Naegi's kind eyes and trusting smile, the warmth of his comforting embrace, but Sayaka forcefully shoves it away. There is no time for regret or hesitation, not when she's on the verge of losing everything she's worked for, and so she smiles through the pain. The same smile that fans and reporters have clamored for in the street, that people have seen in hundreds of concerts and interviews, the one she used to practice giving her father in the hopes of it being pretty enough for him to stop and notice her. He didn't but the entire nation did and she and her friends were going to fade away from the public eye and be forgotten forever if she doesn't get out of here.

Just another performance, she tells herself. It's easier that way, even when there's a weight in her hands and a twinge in her heart reminding her that this is something much different. She keeps smiling though, wide enough to show her perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth, and waits for the curtain to rise so she can take her rightful place in the spotlight.