It was a day like any other. It was the day that I couldn't wait the most…
The day I officially become an idol.
After yesterday's turn of events, it was decided that I would join the idol production agency 765 Productions, which housed 13 idols and their producer, who was my distant relative that I hadn't seen for a long time. The reason I joined them was to return to the world of singing and dancing, both of them which I shunned since I went to middle school. Another one of the reasons was to help me become a man, since everyone always see me as a girl.
Because of my excitement to become an idol, I could hardly sleep that night, turning my body left and right or even look at the clock to see if it was time. As a result, I was deprived of sleep and was yawning a lot the next day. Even my mother, Hinata Rika, saw my yawning face while I was making breakfast and asked with a chuckle,
"My, my. Isn't someone excited to become an idol?"
I quickly closed my gaping mouth after hearing her say that, my face turning red.
"I-It's none of your business!"
She still smiled after I scolded her. It's been a long time since I had gotten this close with her. Usually we'll just talk about how we were doing and what's for dinner. Well, mostly all the blame was on me. She would always come up with topics to say, only for me to talk for a minute before the air around us became tense. All of that changed after that concert. I had heard from Nii-san that she had already asked him to take me in, even though he already has a lot on his hands. Because of that, it looked like one of the reasons I was able to join was because of her.
After I finished making the breakfast, which was a bowl of white rice paired with grilled salmon with miso soup, we sat down and enjoyed the food. I had been cooking for a long time, so the taste had been gradually improving bit by bit. I knew how to make a lot of dishes, but as they always say, the simplest food is always the tastiest.
"Well, I am going now. I'll be back early to prepare dinner."
I washed my plates and quickly put on my shoes before heading out to the agency, hearing my mother's words before I head out.
"Be careful on your way!"
As I arrived at the train station, I heard a familiar voice from my phone, telling me that I got mail. I opened the phone found out that message was from Ta-kun. It read:
'Hey, Yu-kun! It's the first day of summer break! Wanna hang out with me? I'm still going to show you how great the idols are! By the way, I can't believe you would give your ticket to Kaichou-san. I got an earful from her while you weren't there… Oh yeah, the concert was awesome! You should have been there! Everyone performed well, especially Hoshii Miki…"
He wrote such a long message, just to tell me that he wants to hang out? Geez, it's so long that I can't even see the bottom…
I quickly dialed his number, telling him that I was busy. After a while, I heard an enthusiastic Ta-kun on the line.
"So, Yu-kun. You'll go out with-"
"Rejected."
"Eh?! Why is that?"
"I'm busy today. I have to help my mother with some chores at home, so maybe some other day."
That was a horrible lie, but I can't let him know I'm going to the agency!
"Then what about tomorrow?"
"I'm going out with Kuromi that day. Sorry."
Whoops…
"With Kaichou-san?! On a date?!"
"I-It's not a date! We're just hanging out."
"Hmm… I see… Well then, tomorrow it is then!"
Looks like this idiot wants to get killed by Kuromi…
"Wait a second, you can't come tomor-"
Before I was going to tell him not to meet me tomorrow, he immediately hung up from me. He always did like to do things that will get him into trouble… Because of him, I am going to receive a scolding from Kuromi tomorrow. Plus, he hasn't even known that I was going to become an idol, let along being signed with the idol agency that he likes the most.
Thinking of my actions just now, I slapped my face because of my stupidity. Now I had to go with Kuromi and avoid getting seen by Ta-kun. I could imagine the horrors waiting for me the next day…
After getting the train to Tokyo, I began reading the newspaper that I bought just a while ago, just to pass the time. For the first time, I flipped over to the entertainment news section and found the 765 Pro idols on the news. It highlighted the events of the concert that day, detailing who came out, what songs did they sang to and even the talk sessions they had with the audience. It also just happened that they also wrote that Azusa-san got help from an unknown stranger before the concert started. I still couldn't forget what happened with Azusa-san yesterday, but I was happy that my name wasn't mentioned. If it does, I think I would make many enemies in school when it reopens, including Ta-kun and Kuromi…
Putting down the newspaper, I looked towards the scenery outside the train's window. It was different than Kyoto; there were more high-rise buildings here, covering the sky behind them. A lot of people were walking on the crowded roads, some even running to their workplace to avoid being late. It had a different atmosphere from Kyoto, which I could describe as a quiet and peaceful place full of its old cultures. Tokyo was the opposite of that, being a more modern and bustling city.
'We have arrived at Tokyo station. I repeat, we have arrived at Tokyo station….'
I got out of the train, only to see people crowding around the train station. I rarely come to the capital, unless I have anything important to do there. So, I'm still getting used to the many things here. Pulling out a small paper that Nii-san gave me, which was the directions to the agency, I walked for a while before arriving at a small restaurant building. The paper said that the agency is in the building with the numbers '765' on the windows, so it was really a dead giveaway.
I entered the building from the back door and found two ways of getting there; an elevator or the stairs. Unfortunately, the elevators were still being repaired, so I had to walk four floors worth of stairs before I reached the entrance of the office. I had some stamina training when I was in middle school, having joined the Karate club at my school just to be manlier. Unfortunately, it didn't work and I ended up quitting it at the time I had a black belt. Because of the training, my body didn't even feel a bit of fatigue.
Standing in front of the entrance of the agency, I was nervous at first. My palms were sweating for no reason. Maybe it was because I was scared of making a wrong first impression to the other idols.
Get a grip, Yuuki. It's going to be okay….
Reminding myself not to get scared on the first day, I finally opened the door, only to meet the Futami twins standing there with big smiles on their faces.
"Good morning Yu-kyun! Welcome to our agency!"
The first one to speak up was the girl with a long ponytail tied on her left, Futami Mami. The other with her ponytail tied on her right was Futami Ami. It looked like they already knew that I was coming here, waiting for me to arrive…
"We wondered how long were you going to stand there, staring at the door and waiting to go in. Right, Mami?"
I was wrong. They saw me stand there like a complete idiot who was afraid for his first day of school…
"Quit teasing him, you two."
Ritsuko then approached us when she heard I had arrived, making a stern face at them. Afterwards she turned her attention towards and said with a smile,
"Welcome to our agency, Yuuki. We're really happy that you're joining 765 Pro."
"The same goes for me too. By the way, where's Nii-san?"
"Oh, you mean Producer-dono? Don't worry, he's just accompanying Miki on her schedule."
After hearing that he went out with Miki, my smiling face instantly frowned. I just can't imagine him being together with that thieving cat…
"It's one of his jobs, you know. You don't have to get angry at him."
Looking at my frowning face, Ritsuko-san made a stern face and said that as though she read my mind.
"Sorry…"
"So, our Yu-kyun has a liking for Nii-chan, eh…"
"Un un, so our Yu-kyun has stepped towards the forbidden line…"
My face blushed when I heard the Futami twins' words. By the forbidden line did they mean…
"W-wait! You've got it all wrong! I just like and respect him as a brother, t-that's all…"
"Oh, so that's it…"
Ritsuko-san then smiled, acknowledging my respect for Nii-san, I think… For the Futami twins though, they had a devilish smile compared to her. It looks like they aren't going to let this one slip through…
I have to be careful of them next time…
"Okay, on to business. Please come this way, Yuuki."
As I followed Ritsuko-san and the twins, I found that the agency wasn't as modern and big as I thought. I had imagined that idol agencies are the place where you would see records hanging at the walls, colorful decorations and furniture. Instead, what I saw was the opposite, plain and old furniture, boxes piled up at the corners of the walls, my perfect imagination of this place blew up the moment I saw these.
"Actually, we're just an ordinary agency. So we were only able to afford this kind of place. Sorry if it doesn't strike you as fancy."
Ritsuko explained this to me, seeing that I knew a lot of idol agencies are like mansions. I shook my head in disagreement after hearing this, saying,
"I don't mind, if I am able to work with Nii-san."
"Is that so… Well then, first let us register you as an idol…"
After a few steps, I saw the receptionist that was with the idols yesterday, standing with a pile of paper on her hands. I still didn't know her name yet though…
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Otonashi Kotori. Nice to meet you, Yuuki."
"P-pleased to meet you too…"
I didn't know why, but I felt something strange when she introduced herself. Her smile and her voice… It was like I was supposed to remember her, but I can't seem to put my eye on it…
"Kotori-chan will take care of everything for you. Now, excuse me while I send Ami and Mami to the studio."
"Bye, Yu-kyun! We'll see you later!"
"Yeah! Bye!"
After the three left the office, it was just me and Kotori-san inside the agency. Everyone had their hands busy with their schedules and were out for the rest of the morning. I felt tense and nervous the moment I realized that we were alone. However, Kotori-san was still calm despite being with a young guy.
"Let's get started, okay?"
"H-huh? Yeah…"
As we sat down and drank one of the teas served by Kotori-san, she pulls out a paper with the title 'Official Idol Registration' from her desk.
"Let's start, shall we?"
Kotori-san then asked me some questions about my personal information.
"Your name is Tatsuki Yuuki, your age is 17 years old, and your gender is… female-"
"Wait a minute, I'm a guy!"
"I-is that so? Sorry, I still can't get used to guys looking like girls…"
Sigh… I really can't believe that she would treat me as a girl too…
After a few minutes of getting information from me, the registration was finally finished. I sighed deeply at the amount of information the registration needed to become an idol…
"Hey, Kotori-san, are those information really needed?"
"Of course. This makes sure that the media and the fans would get to know you a little better."
"I see…"
Kotori-san then placed the papers into her desk and got back to her work. She told me that I would stay here for the rest of the morning until Nii-san comes and takes me for practice. Till then, she said that I could watch the television.
Looking inside the cupboard beside the television, I found recordings of the idols performing live or acting in a drama. All of the CDs were arranged neatly, with a space for each of the idols. However, I looked at the collection for a while and saw a name that doesn't belong to any of the idols in 765 Pro…
I asked Kotori-san about the name that was in the cupboard. Hearing this, she said,
"Oh. That was one of our rivals, Jupiter. They were the top idols for a while before they disbanded. Everyone hasn't heard of them since…"
"Can I watch it?"
"Sure. Maybe it would give you a hint as to how male idols perform."
After that, I placed the CD into the player and sat on the sofa. As the video began, I could already hear fangirls screaming loudly. Three silhouettes were seen on the stage before the light revealed three boys on the stage. The right one had green hair with a headband holding his long hair. The left one was a tall one with yellow and short hair. And lastly, the one in the middle had red and wavy hair. The three of them were very charming. No wonder they would have so many female fans. They were practically the very person I dreamed of becoming…
"Good evening, everyone! We, Jupiter, are going to sing 'Alice or Guilty'!"
As they introduced their song, the audience screamed even more. As the music started, everyone was practically cheering for the trio. It was almost the same sensation I felt from the concert yesterday; only that this one was far more intense.
The city is a warped labyrinth.
And in it I lose you...
"Guilty..."
When the performance ended, my heart felt like it almost skipped a beat. Their movements, their singing... It was on a level far from the 765 Pro idols. It made me wonder why a unit of such high caliber would disband…
However, that red haired guy in the middle looked very familiar. Even though Kotori-san was like a faint memory, I couldn't mistake that guy as anyone else though...
"Hey, Kotori-san. Who is that guy in the middle?"
Curious at that young man's identity, I decided to ask Kotori-san about it.
"That's Amagase Touma. He's the leader of Jupiter."
As expected, that name rings a bell... After losing myself in my thoughts for a while, it finally hit me…
"Ah! Onigashima Ransetsu!"
Author Notes: Wow, this chapter was finally released! Sorry guys, it took me a while… Studies, work and writer's block affected this chapter. Plus, my English has gone rusty… I'm really sorry for having you guys wait this long. I'm not giving up on this, but my schedule is preventing me from touching this. Anyways, sorry for ranting too much and please look forward to the next chapter.
