Chapter Four

"What?! Seriously?" Rin exclaimed. "But why?" She wasn't that confident about performing anyway, but to have all that hard practice for almost nothing was quite disappointing.

"Is it something about Tomoko?" Hinata asked. It made sense that the live would at least be rescheduled if Tomoko's condition was really bad. She hoped their new friend was okay.

"Well yes," Suzuko replied, smiling. "Next live will be Tomoko's succession."

"Succession?!" Hinata gasped. " So soon?! But it hasn't even been a month!"

"Wow, Tomoko must be really talented eve compared to previous kenkyusei." Shiya remarked. "It's been long since someone became a successor so fast, isn't it?"

"Who is she succeeding?" Rin asked curiously.

"We don't know yet. I'll be taking her to the temple, and I'll find out when she wakes from her fever of succession, while you girls, along with everyone else, will only know at the concert." Suzuko told her. "Feel free to celebrate for your friend, but don't relax too much. You are still expected to perform Lemon no Toshigoro for the opening act. Rinka will fill in for Tomoko's part, and Fujitako will be required to stand in as a successor. Notify them for me if you see them."

Rinka bumped into the three newer understudies as she was coming back in from getting some fresh air. She'd heard that Tomoko passed out with a fever earlier that day, and hoped the girl was okay.

"Hey people, how's Tomoko? Is she okay?" She asked concernedly, stopping in her tracks. Oddly they were all smiling, not a trace of worry on their faces.

"Rinka-senpai, Tomoko's becoming a successor!" Hinata relayed to the understudies' captain excitedly.

"Drop the 'senapi' please—but never mind that! Wow, Tomoko's succeeding someone so fast?! Congrats! Maybe you lot will all surpass us really soon! I'm going to tell Fujitako about this right now!" Rinka replied, equally excited as Hinata.

"Oh, speaking of that, Suzuko-san wants you to perform Lemon no Toshigoro with us in Tomoko's stead in the following live, and Fujitako to stand in as a successor." Shiya informed the older girl.

"Sure, I'll go tell her. You guys work hard too!" Rinka walked away, all smiles, turning the corner. As she got to the room at the end of the corridor, the room she shared with Fujitako, she walked inside and flung herself onto her bed.

Fujitako was in front of her computer as she often was, searching for various kinds of information. She was an IT genius who could access basically anything with a computer, and apparently back home she used to help the Wota receive signals of entertainment broadcasted.

"Tomoko's becoming a successor."

Fujitako turned to look at Rinka. "Well, tell the girls congratulations." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"It's just… I don't know…" Rinka turned, looking at the posters of various generations of Minegishi Minami on her wall. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Fujitako was doing the same, staring at her posters of Sashi. The previous one was really sweet, with her fluffy pink hair. Aida Orine, part of No Name. Despite being totally different from the original Sashihara, she succeeded that name in less than a year, when she was only thirteen.

"We're almost sixteen. We don't really have that much time left." Fujitako remarked.

"Ya." Rinka sighed. The two lapsed into an awkward silence.

"I'm such a terrible person. As a senior and understudy captain I should be guiding our kouhai. But I can't help…you know…feeling like I'm a failure." Rinka's voice quivered slightly as she broke the silence. "Maybe we should just quit?"

"Don't worry. You're really good at performing and leading too. Your chance will come soon." Fujitako reassured her friend. "Maybe we'll be like the 75th generation. They were awesome, weren't they? But it was two whole years before they could become successors!"

"Well fine." Rinka put on a half-smile. "Anyway, we'd better work hard. We can't lose to our newest rivals, can we? Speaking of that, Suzuko-san wants you to stand in for a successor at Tomoko's succession, while I'm going to perform with the other understudies. You'd better practice! I don't want us to blow Tomoko's show."

Shiya's heart pounded rapidly in her chest as she stood backstage with the other understudies. She was wearing a frilly striped vermillion dress with matching shoes and white gloves and socks, the standard outfit for Lemon no Toshigoro. The audience had already been seated outside, and the live was going to begin soon.

The audience was huge. The theater could seat more than a thousand, and in a succession live it was usually almost full. Seeing as the understudy in question was a descendant of the Itano family, the expectations were high, and all the tickets had been sold out at once. Shiya's hands were shaking as she stood there waiting. She'd never been the outgoing type, and she was really scared of talking in front of people. Back at school she started hyperventilating whenever she had to speak or perform in front of an audience.

"Don't worry, it won't go wrong." She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Rinka smiling at her. "I know you're nervous, but it'll be all right. Everyone's had these moments. We'll be with you, won't we? You look really cute in this dress, by the way." Rinka was wearing the yellow version of the dress, which really suited her.

"Guys, we have to do really well for Tomoko's sake." Rin walked towards them, wearing the blue version that matched her eyes.

"Yes, let's try our best!" Hinata agreed. Her pink dress actually went quite well with her dark red shoulder-length curls.

"Fujitako! Where are you? Come over here!" Rinka called. A few moments later, Fujitako came running towards them, wearing the red successors' uniform.

"Okay guys, let's form a circle,"Rinka directed. The five girls moved as the successors usually did, into a circle where their hands were locked. "Okay, I suck at this." she muttered.

"Always grateful, precise, and calm—we're following our dreams! akb0048 kenkyusei!"

With that, the four girls started out onto stage, Fujitako thumbs-upping them. The audience clapped and cheered as they saw the girls step onstage.

"Good evening everyone! Welcome to the succession live of Itano Tomoko, 89th generation understudy!" Rinka called. "I'm Suzukawa Rinka, understudy captain, and on stage with me I have the three other members of the 89th generation!"

"I'm Yumeno Hinata. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Hoshikawa Rin. Please support me!"

"I'm Tsukuyomi Shiya. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu."

"We are the zenza girls for today. Please listen to Lemon no Toshigoro."

The audience clapped at their introductions, but it was clear they weren't really into the performance. They, like the girls, were eager to know who Tomoko was succeeding.

kyoushitsu no madobe wa

hizashi no sunadokei

anata wo matte iru

jikan ga kage ni naru

As Rinka and Hinata sang, Shiya noticed that two kirara had flocked towards Hinata, and were glowing like a spotlight. She seemed to be outshining Rinka, who was also putting on an impressive performance. The two girls were at least as radiant as successors. It made Rin and her, who were swaying from side to side to the music, seem to have no presence at all.

GURAUNDO wo hashiru

YUNIFOOMU sugata wo

KAATEN ni kakurete

setsunaku nagameteta

Shiya stepped forward, Rin by her side. Her heart skipped a bit as she realized that her voice was so quiet she almost couldn't hear herself. Rin was trying to sing louder to make up for it, but the single kirara which was floating in front of them only glowed dimly. The rest of the kirara seemed to flock to Hinata and Rinka. She finished her part and stepped back, feeling terrible. She was determined to do better for Tomoko.

aoi remon hitotsu

tenohira de tsutsunde

agetai no

sou watashi no subete

aoi remon sotto

wakasugiru kajitsu wa

modokashii kono toshigoro

The girls finished the song and bowed to the audience. Shiya sighed in relief. She'd managed to sing louder in the chorus, and to her relief a kirara had started glowing in her prescence. Hinata had, obviously, the greatest radiance, but at least she did okay.

"Thank you for listening! Now, the time has come! Who do you think Tomoko-chan is succeeding?" Rinka called to the audience, which had started to get heated up. "We'll pass the time to Tomoko!"

"Everyone, thanks for coming to my succession live." Tomoko's lively voice came from backstage as the four girls left the stage. "As a member of the Itano family, I was trained to be like the original Itano Tomomi, in hopes that I will succeed her when I join akb0048. And indeed I love singing and dancing, and am now a 00 member. However, I think this is going to be a BIG surprise for everyone!"

Excited whispers went through the crowd as the audience conversed with each other.

"I am honored to share the same surname as an original member, and I am grateful towards my parents for giving me the name Tomoko, 'friendly child'. With this gratitude in my heart, today, I will take on a new name. I will become… the 11th Miyazawa Sae!"

Well, sorry for not updating for a month or so, but with exams and the partying period afterwards, I didn't write anything. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for the reviews, and please feel free to review and make suggestions. Thanks!