The Fame
"So, where are we going now?" Jun asked as she was stuffed into another expensive looking limo with Mio and Azusa.
"We're going to meet Ui, Yui-senpai, and Ritsu-senpai. We have an interview to do today and Ui asked us to bring you along." Azusa said as she checked her cell phone for the time.
"You guys sure are busy during the day. Don't you ever get any free time to do… things you want to do?" Jun asked as she frowned a little. After all in just a few hours, Jun had seen how they were shuffled from the clothing store to the stadium for sound checks, and now they were on their way to an interview. Jun didn't know how they could handle such a busy life even though they were just a year older then she was; minus Ui and Azusa who were the same age as her.
"We get time off but with the contest coming up and our recent return to Japan, we were bound to get busy." Mio replied as she looked out the window of the limo, stormy grey eyes watching the scenery zoomed by as Jun took a deep breath.
It was nice to get to talk to Azusa and Mio like they were normal people, but Jun couldn't shake the feeling that she shouldn't be there.
She was just a commoner among queens.
"Ne, Jun?" Azusa asked softly.
"Hm?"
"We're here."
"A-Ah okay." Jun got out of the limo with Mio and Azusa and almost instantly the girls quickly pushed her towards the building. She could hear a collective scream from somewhere before she was pushed through the door and two large policemen blocked the door as a mob of fans tried to get a glimpse of the idols.
"Whew, didn't want you getting mauled… so had to get you in here fast." Azusa said as she laughed softly at the stunned expression on Jun's face.
"How did they know you were here?" Jun asked.
"It's amazing what the internet can produce these days." Mio replied as she snickered and led Jun towards the dressing rooms.
"Ah, there they are! Miooo~ I was getting bored without you." Ritsu said as she walked up casually towards Mio and gave Azusa a pat on the head before those sharp golden eyes turned to Jun.
Jun felt slightly uncomfortable under the gaze of HTT's drummer and leader, but soon those eyes seemed to soften and she gave Jun a pleasant smile before turning to Mio.
"Hey there~" Ritsu purred as she kissed the bassist on the cheek before hooking an arm around her waist.
"What'd I say about doing that in public, Ritsu?" Mio said sternly, but she looked happy despite the affectionate kiss.
"I know, I know, but I wanted to give you one since… well things are about to get complicated." Ritsu replied as the smile vanished and she motioned with her head towards their right.
Jun followed Mio's gaze and her violet eyes landed on Ui and…
Isn't that Yukeru Taka?
Indeed it was the famous bassist from Atomic Crisis, the rival band of Houkago Teatime.
And he and Ui looked to be having some sort of argument.
For the first time since Jun had met Ui personally, she witnessed the brunette's face looking positively livid with anger as she and Yukeru talked.
"Damn it, Where's Yui? Has she seen this yet?" Mio asked as she looked at Ritsu.
"Not yet, and thank god she hasn't. Azusa, go find her and keep her occupied, we don't want another fight happening." Ritsu said to their young kouhai. The twin-tailed girl nodded firmly before quickly wandering off in search of the lead guitarist.
Jun was thoroughly confused.
"Ano, why are Yukeru and Ui-chan talking?" Jun asked caused Ritsu to look at her once more.
"Well… it's complicated." The drummer replied as she rubbed the back of her head. "You see, Yukeru has got it in his head that he and Ui-chan are dating, but she's told him many times that they aren't. He keeps trying to… persuade her otherwise."
"It's actually gotten quite dangerous to have the two around each other because Yui doesn't like people messing with her sister." Mio whispered solemnly. "If she sees this, there's going to be another fight and that just means more work for Sawako-san."
"He's probably asking her to call off the contest and just pick him over the few other musicians that are going to compete against him. What an ass." Ritsu hissed as she frowned more. "I'm going to go tell him to back off. I'll be back."
Once Ritsu made her way over towards Ui and Yukeru and got between the two of them, Yukeru seemed to back off instantly before shooting the drummer a glare and walking off.
Jun suddenly understood why Azusa had said she could possibly run that jackass off.
If she won the contest, he'd leave Ui alone and the girl wouldn't be bothered by him.
At least not by that.
Jun nodded to herself before smiling confidently as she followed Mio over to Ui and Ritsu.
"You okay Ui-chan? He didn't hurt you did he?" Ritsu asked once Mio and Jun got closer.
"No, I'm fine. He… was just asking me a bunch of questions that he already knew the answer to." Ui whispered softly.
Jun didn't know if Ritsu and Mio caught it, but Jun could have sworn she heard a broken tone in Ui's voice, like she had almost given up fighting. This caused Jun to swallow hard before she marched up to Ui and put her hands on the guitarist's shoulders.
"Hey! Cheer up, Ui," Jun said, smiling when she saw hope return in Ui's eyes, "I've decided I'll enter the contest and beat that guy so hard into the ground, it'll take him years to dig himself back out!" Jun said boastfully, hoping that her confidence would rub off on her new celebrity friend.
It seemed to work and Ui instantly pulled Jun into a hug, whispering 'Thank you,' over and over again.
"Hey hey, you don't have to thank me, besides, we're friends right? I'll do whatever I can to help."
"You seem to be taking to talking to us pretty easily even though we're massive celebrities, Jun-chan~" Ritsu purred as she put an arm around Jun's shoulder and chuckled. "I hope you're not planning on telling the press this hot new scoop."
"W-What! No, I wouldn't! I may be star struck, but I'm not going to do that… that's just rude and in such bad taste. Even after all Ui's done for me." Jun replied as she frowned hard.
"Don't worry, Ritsu-san, I'm sure Jun-chan will be a good friend. Ne?" Ui said confidently, making Jun nod before a crewmember walked over to the four of them.
"Okay, we have everything set up for the interview, please make your way to the make-up artist and we'll begin shortly… who is this?" The man asked as he pointed to Jun.
"Uh-" Jun felt her stomach drop.
"She's a friend, Suzuki-san here has our permission to be backstage with us and to watch our interview backstage as well." Ritsu replied as she smiled at Jun, causing the worry to disappear.
"Alright Suzuki-san, please sit in that chair over on the side of the stage; you'll be able to see everything from there and you won't be in the way." The crewmember said as he ushered Mio and Ritsu off before turning to Ui.
"Hirasawa-san-"
"I'll be there shortly, I need to tell Jun-chan one thing first." Ui said instantly.
"Hai, make it quick." The man left, leaving Ui and Jun alone for the moment.
"Ui?" Jun was a little confused about what Ui was going to ask her but once she saw that Ui was happy, she would listen to whatever the young Hirasawa sibling would say.
"First of all, thank you for agreeing to participate in the contest, it means a lot to me." Ui whispered as she put her arms around Jun's neck and hugged her close causing the pig-tailed girl to blush slightly.
"No problem-"
"Second… this interview is going to… really take it out of me, so I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me to a club later. I'll be completely frustrated and I'll need to vent it out in a healthy way. And Ritsu-san suggested dancing once, so I think I'll try that… but only if you go." Ui said softly, her minty breath caressing Jun's ear in a way that made her body tingle.
"A-Ah, sure, that sounds like fun. I've never been to one before so what why not." Jun said as she smiled a little more.
This answer seemed to please Ui even more before she slowly turned her head, her silky lips brushing against Jun's cheek before she pulled away to smile at the now bright red face.
"Good, I have to go get ready for this interview but… I'm glad we talked." Ui pulled away fully from the hug she had given Jun, but before she got too far, the guitarist turned back around to face her.
"And thank you for calling me Ui."
Jun blushed a little more as Ui gave her another wink before disappearing into a dressing room.
Jun inhaled deeply as she turned to sit down in the chair as she raised a hand to touch the spot that Ui had kissed.
She kissed my cheek… does that mean anything? No… no it's just a little friendship kiss. Yeah that's it. Nothing wrong about a kiss on the cheek. It doesn't mean anything.
Jun shook her head as she sighed softly. She didn't understand these new feelings bubbling in the pit of her stomach each time she was around Ui. At first, she thought it was just excitement for being around someone so famous but after a while, these feelings became quite different from the excitement. It felt more like-
Jun had to quit thinking like this. She would end up hurting herself and Ui if she continued thinking thoughts like this, so she quickly shut out those feelings; the bubbling feeling decreasing over time as she watched Houkago Teatime sit in seats around the interviewer and she heard a man count down before the cameras started rolling.
"And we're live with one of the most famous bands in Japan! Let's give a nice round of applause for my guests, Houkago Teatime, or better known as HTT!"
As the interviewer said this, the audience began clapping and cheering rather loudly as the members of HTT waved to them.
Jun was feeling rather proud that she got to witness the band do these things today and was even happier that they considered her a friend.
Well, at least Ui did.
Jun wasn't sure how the others felt about her presence, but they didn't seem too disturbed by it. So she just considered herself lucky.
"Now, I know a lot of people are dying to know more about this contest you are having, Ui-chan. Would you like to tell us more about it?" The interviewer asked, smiling kindly at the youngest of the group.
"Of course." Ui replied sweetly as she smiled brightly. "The contest is open to anyone with musical interests and experience. It will consist of three days worth of tests for me to see just how talented people are. I'll be the judge, along with Houkago Teatime, and they'll help me find out who the best musician is to join me in my band." As Ui finished her explanation of the contest, the audience once again started clapping.
"My! That sounds exciting! Now, you can't give any hints to what the contest will have in it, correct?" The interviewer asked.
"I'm sorry, I can't give any information at all. I don't want people preparing ahead of time. After all, I'd like to see how people perform when given just a few minutes to think about a subject before having to perform it."
"Ah, wise words, Hirasawa-san, very wise."
Jun smirked a little as she watched Ui's eyes flick towards her before going back to the interviewer.
"Now a lot of people are curious to why you're even looking for a member. Your solo career has been so successful recently, why would you want to change that?" The interviewer asked.
"I'm just tired of performing alone. Unlike my sister's group, I don't have anyone to enjoy musical interest with."
"Rumor has it you're doing this because of what happened with your parents."
There was a wave of silence that followed that statement.
Jun didn't know why, but she suddenly felt the room get very cold.
She also noticed both Ui and Yui tense up greatly.
"I'd rather not discuss that subject." Ui stated very plainly.
"But I'm sure your fans are curious to know more about what happened to them. Was it true that they were overseas when the accident happened?"
Jun watched worriedly as Ui began shaking.
She also watched as Azusa's hand tightened around Yui's.
"…Can we please go to a different subject, I really don't want to discuss this." Ui said, voice shaking a little.
Jun looked over Ui worriedly before she heard the interviewer sigh irritably before nodding.
"Very well, let's talk about Taka Yukeru then. Is it true that the two of you are dating? I had an interview with him earlier and he-"
"No, I'll tell you that right now. We've never dated and never will. We have too many different interests. Plus he is not my type." Ui replied instantly, her voice no longer happy and was laced with anger.
"So quick to answer, are you sure you're not hiding anyth-"
"I believe my sister already answered your question, don't repeat yourself." Yui said as she frowned at the man, making him back down instantly.
"Y-You're right. I do believe it's time for a commercial break anyway. When we return, Houkago Teatime will perform one of their new songs, Bitter Sweet Beauty Song. Please stay tuned for that!"
The interviewer then quickly got up from his chair once the cameras were off and quickly left the stage while Ui got up and walked backstage as well.
Jun instantly followed.
It wasn't her place to be doing what she was about to do, but it hurt to see Ui unhappy. She didn't know why, but she had to help in some way.
Jun quickly rounded the corner to see Ui slumped in a chair holding a picture as tears streamed down her face.
"Ui…" Jun whispered sadly as she slowly walked over to the distraught guitarist.
As she got closer Ui quickly snapped her head up, face hardened in a frown ready to snap at Jun before realization struck her and her face softened once she noticed who it was.
"A-Ah, Jun-chan. G-Gomen. I didn't realize it was you." Ui whispered apologetically as she looked back down at the picture.
"Forgive me for following you back here, but... but after what I saw… after what he said… are you okay?" Jun asked as she knelt down beside Ui, slowly putting a hand on her back to try and comfort her.
"… No. I thought Sawako-san sent in a list of questions this man couldn't ask… I guess he chose to ignore them like everyone else." Ui whispered as she sighed softly. "I guess they all expect Onee-chan and I to be over it. But we're not."
Jun was very confused about what Ui was talking about as she tried to think of something to say to comfort her new friend.
"My parents died Jun-chan. If that's what you're wondering." Ui said causing Jun's eyes to widen.
"Oh… I'm so sorry. I wasn't going to ask since it wasn't my place…"
"It's okay. I don't mind if you know… just I don't feel like talking much about it, especially with people that don't care… they just want a story. They don't care about the feelings behind that story." Ui said as she closed her eyes tightly.
Soon Ui felt herself get pulled into a hug; her eyes went wide as she felt her face get buried into Jun's shoulder as the pig tailed girl tried to comfort her as best she could.
"I know how you feel… I lost my mother a few years ago. So if you ever need someone to talk about that with, you can always come to me." Jun said softly as she rubbed up and down Ui's back, calming the shivers in the poor Hirasawa's body.
"Thank you… that means a lot to me." Ui said as she inhaled softly before hugging Jun back. "Thank you for comforting me. I needed it. Azusa-chan must be doing the same for Onee-chan right now too… she's very sensitive about the subject as well, but she's had Azusa-chan since… that day, so she's probably made it much easier for her… But I've had no one to comfort me about it. I mean, Azusa-chan has tried many times, but it's not the same, Azusa-chan is Onee-chan's lo… girlfriend."
Jun ignored the fact that Ui had almost let slip that Yui and Azusa were lovers and continued to hug the distraught girl tight.
"I'll do what I can, tonight when we go to that club; I'll make sure you have a great time, okay? I promise." Jun said as she pulled away from the hug to give Ui a reassuring smile.
The ponytailed girl smiled back before sniffling softly.
"I need to go have Himeko-san redo my make-up real quick. I'll return shortly, okay? Thank you for making me feel better." Ui replied as she stood up along with Jun and gave her another smile before turning to go back to the dressing rooms.
Jun watched as Ui walked away before she turned to go back to her seat. She silently hoped the interviewer wouldn't ask any more personal questions and hoped the rest of the day went better for her new friends.
Beta note: Your author didn't put a note here. Is this where I jump around screaming "FIRST!11!1oneone!11!" XD I'm kidding. The next chapter guys. Amg. Stuff happens. And things, don't forget the things. …I'm just taking up space. XD
Author Note: What's this, Beta note before Author note? BLASPHAMY! Anyways, yeah, next chapter, things happen. Hehe, I can't wait to pump out that chapter next~ I'm going to enjoy it, I hope you guys do to, until then just enjoy this wonder little chapter~ 83
