See! I told you I'd get the update up soon! I spent the entire day in a car, so I had lots of time to write. Although, it is slightly short, so I hope it's not too much of a disappointment. I feel like Asuka hasn't gotten too much time dedicated to her so far, so I think we should give her some time, right? And besides, I'm sure we all want to see a little bit of Asuka and Manjoume, don't we?
Asuka woke up and pushed the sheets off her body, yawning loudly. She'd stayed up way too late, watching the announcement video for Cyber Punk's new collection over and over again. She couldn't help it; the designs were so cool! To be fair, she probably should have gotten a bit more sleep, considering she had an audition for Cyber Punk's upcoming fashion commercial. She went over to the mirror to check her face, and her undereye circles weren't too bad, so she shrugged and started to wash her face.
Sneaking out of the house early, Asuka decided she'd grab a sandwich on her way before getting to the audition. Nothing was worse than doing auditions on an empty stomach. Munching on her newly-purchased breakfast bun, Asuka thought about calling or texting Edo or Johan, but ultimately decided against it. She would see them later, anyways. And besides, this was Cyber Punk! Her favourite brand, the brand she wanted more than anything to be a representative for. She knew the chances were low, considering how many idols wanted to be in this commercial, but she'd be damned if she didn't at least try her very best! With that thought, she continued walking, enjoying the quiet of the early morning.
The place was absolutely packed, just as Asuka had assumed it would be.
"No surprise there." She quietly mused, but put herself into the sign-in queue and waited, until she saw spiky black hair come waltzing through the now-dispersed crowd. "No way… what is Manjoume doing here?" She muttered, turning her body away to hide herself from her former not-so-secret admirer. It wasn't that she disliked him or anything, but she had an audition to nail, and she didn't want to waste precious preparation time by talking to him. Luckily, he disappeared ahead and Asuka could freely go sign in at the reception. Continuing in towards the backstage, Asuka yawned, but made eye contact with grey eyes she recognized; it was Rose. "You're kidding me…" Asuka muttered, quickly trying to avert her eyes, but it was too late. Rose had already seen her and was walking towards her.
"Hello, I saw you staring at me, and I just wanted to bless you with my presence." Rose smiled, curtsying. Asuka genuinely didn't know if Rose was messing with her or if she seriously didn't remember her.
"That's really not what happened." Asuka said, making Rose straighten herself and a scowl made its way onto her face.
"I was giving you a chance to redeem yourself, but I see that was a waste of time. I shouldn't have expected any better of a girl who lost at the beginner live show." Rose shook her head sadly, voice mocking. At the memory of the last live show, Asuka felt her confidence falter slightly. "But, it's alright, dear. This time I'll show you just how inferior you are, with another special appeal, of course." Rose chuckled, bring out her hand fan. Asuka bit her lip, confidence falling further. Of course; she'd forgotten Rose and Miko had performed a group appeal at the beginner live show. As she felt anxiety bubble up in chest, she heard a semi-loud squeal from the side.
"Ah! Cyber Dancer, I love you!" Manjoume exclaimed, throwing himself at Asuka, who squeaked and stepped back in shock, making Manjoume fall to the floor. He rubbed his head, before he stood up and bowed elegantly for her. "It's been a while, milady." Manjoume smiled at her from his bowed position.
"Manjoume, what the hell are you doing here?" Asuka hissed, hoping Rose wouldn't hear her. Manjoume frowned.
"I'm here to be a judge." He whispered back before he glanced up at Rose, face unreadable. Then he straightened himself up. "Cyber Dancer, you know my love for you is eternal." He said, somehow pulling out a rose out of nowhere. Asuka blushed, although whether from anger or embarrassment she didn't know.
"Please, shut up." She mumbled. "Please, just stay quiet." Rose, watching the situation from the side, was annoyed with the fact that not only had she lost her edge, but one of the judges was here and claimed to love Cyber Dancer. No matter, she'd change that in a few moments. Angrily, she hmphed and stomped away. Asuka just glanced over towards where Rose had been moments earlier. Noticing the time, Asuka freaked out. "Oh no, it's almost my turn!" She cried out, running off, not even saying goodbye to Manjoume. Manjoume stayed still and watched as she left, before turning to look over his shoulder, a pleased smile appearing on his face.
Placing her cards onto the slots in the machine, Asuka stepped in, ready to perform her solo version of Down the Distant Road in her basic coord. Once she stepped out of the machine, she appeared on a futuristic stage, the background resembling the window of a space ship, staring out into the dark abyss. Asuka smiled, this was such a dreamlike stage to be on. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself as a princess dancing in space, skating across the cosmos. Once she felt the energy in her heart, she stepped forward, ready to perform. The stage went dark, as it always did at first, and then when the lights came on and the music started, she put on a calming smile.
Tooi michi no saki de
Anata no koto wo zutto omou
You can do this, Asuka. Just do it the same way you always have. Smile and charm everyone.
Kinou no youni kanjiru
deai wasure wa shinai
You're a lonely space princess, your only joy comes from skating through the cosmos. You can see all the planets, but you can never go there, you're all alone.
Tooi michi no saki ni
anata ga ireba mitsumeaeru
Don't let the crowd frighten you, everyone is here to see you as you paint the sky with shooting stars.
Kawaranu ai mamoru sou
eien ni wasure wa shinai
Connect the stars in constellations, so everyone can marvel at you and the night sky. It's your duty.
Oh sabishisa de toki
ga nagarenakunattemo
..ooo...
There's nothing to be afraid of. Like this, nobody can catch you. You're light, and nimble.
Oh dono michi mo anata
he to tsuzuiteru kara
You're almost finished for the night, you just need to take your spin around the earth, ensure that it keeps spinning.
Kanashimi wa sugu ni
suteru no koko ni wa
Namidairo no kimi utsuranai kedo
Ima wo ikiru watashi no
sugata dake todoite hoshii
And now, you leave with one final bang, show the world what you're made of.
Tooi michi no saki wa
futari no sekai mada mienai
Kawarazu tada ikinuku
watashi mayoi wa shinai
With a burst of energy, Asuka felt herself lift, filling her body with energy and Cyber Tutu materialized skates for her, the scenery transforming into a colourful cosmos, which she could skate across, shooting stars erupting from her as she skated, arms raised wide before she landed, hands on her hip, with star glitter raining down.
"Skating Cosmos." She stated quietly, and the lights went down, audience bursting into applause, some people even cheering loudly.
It didn't truly hit Asuka what happened until she had stepped out of the machine and realized that she had done an individual special appeal. She didn't know how; she'd never pulled one off before. Honestly, the whole performance felt like a surreal memory, as if it didn't belong to her. Maybe she had gone so far into her character that even she got confused. Shaking her head, she felt a large smile grow on her face. She did it, she actually did a special appeal. Quietly cheering she went to the screen to continue watching the other performances. Eventually it became Rose's turn, and Asuka crossed her arms, watching intently. In the end, she did well, but she did a normal special appeal, and Asuka knew those weren't worth as much. As the performances passed by, she slowly got more disheartened, seeing other idols perform excellent numbers. Shoulders slumping, she sighed; she should have known there wasn't really a chance for her to win this. Sitting down on a nearby bench, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. In any case, she had done her best performance ever, which should have made her feel proud, but…
Stop being so harsh on yourself, Asuka. Remember what Johan said! Asuka thought, scolding herself through her own thoughts. Johan and Edo would be proud of her when they heard about the special appeal, so why couldn't she be proud of herself? Shaking her head, she opened an eye when the commentator started talking.
"All the idols have now performed. Now we turn things over to our judges. Everyone, stay tuned!" The speaker announced and Asuka closed her eyes again. She was tired, it felt like every ounce of energy had been drained from her body, not at all like she had felt when she stepped off the stage. Beside her, Cyber Tutu popped up, patting her shoulder lightly. Asuka smiled gently at her.
"You did great out there, Tutu. Thank you." She whispered, patting the spirit on her head. To Asuka's surprise the spirit shook her hand off and stomped in the air, pouting. With wide eyes, Asuka looked at Cyber Tutu in confusion until the spirit started pointing at her. "Me too? You're saying I did well too, Tutu?" Asuka asked and Cyber Tutu nodded, doing a loop in the air. A tired smile broke out on Asuka's face. "Thank you, Tutu." Of course, the underlying words of but I don't think I did were still there, but just getting Asuka to say thank you was a big step, so Cyber Tutu decided to take it as a victory.
"Everyone! We have a result!" Asuka's eyes snapped up toward the television. "Our winner is… miss Cyber Dancer! Congratulations!" Asuka's eyes grew wider than she thought possible. Cyber Tutu made several more loops in happiness.
"No… there's… there's no way…" Tears gathered in her eyes as she stood up in disbelief. She turned to look at Cyber Tutu who was still cheering. "Cyber Tutu… we… we won!" Asuka exclaimed, grabbing the spirit into a hug so tight it was nearly suffocating for the spirit, before she let her go and went to go up onto the stage. The energy from before had come back, and Asuka felt so excited again, she felt like she had drank too much coffee and had a rush of caffeine.
"And here she is! Cyber Dancer!" The announcer exclaimed as she stepped onto the stage. Asuka bowed politely and put on her coolest but kindest smile; the lonely smile of a space princess.
"Everyone, thank you for giving me this chance to soar across the cosmos for you." Then she straightened her back and struck a pose, before she left the stage, a large smile on her face.
She won! She won! Manjoume cheered internally. He adored Asuka and her performances, they had gone through idol training when they were younger and she had never failed to amaze him, but this? This was amazing on a whole new level. She had looked so lonely as she danced and sang the song, giving it a different vibe from when she had performed it with her team. And her special appeal? Her special appeal was the best part of it all. She looked as if that stage had been built for her as she skated through space. He had seen it on Frantz's face as well, he had enjoyed her performance very much. Manjoume didn't even say anything and Frantz instantly said after Asuka's performance that she was it; she was his new muse. Pulling out a sketchpad, he had instantly started drawing up new outfit ideas. It was amazing, how that man could get to work so fast, Manjoume had thought, but paid it little mind. He had to go congratulate Asuka. Speedily walking through the backstage, he found her in a small corner, smiling to herself. When she saw him coming, he noticed how her face curled into a frown. He realized that she'd probably be annoyed after he'd pulled that stunt earlier, but he knew how important this audition would be for her and he wouldn't let some rude idol ruin that for her.
"Hey, Asuka." Manjoume said, once he was close enough to ensure that nobody could hear him.
"Manjoume." She said, curtly, clearly not happy.
"I just wanted to congratulate you. I know how much this audition meant to you." He said, and even Asuka could hear how heartful he was. Her face softened.
"Thank you, Manjoume." She said. "I really didn't think I was gonna win, though." She said, smiling awkwardly. Manjoume frowned, she'd never had the best self-confidence and combining that with her tendency to overwork herself had been a deadly combo for her in the past.
"You were amazing, Asuka. Even Frantz thought so." Manjoume said, causing Asuka to do a double-take.
"He… did?" She asked in disbelief. Manjoume nodded.
"He didn't even look at the others after you. He was drawing up new outfit ideas." He explained, but Asuka just shook her head and laughed.
"There's no need to lie to me Manjoume, you know that." Asuka said. Manjoume sighed, and slapped his forehead.
"I'm not lying though, just because I think you're gorgeous and I love you with all my heart it doesn't mean that I-"
"Cyber Dancer!" Frantz cut Manjoume off and ran up to Asuka, shocking her greatly.
"Mr Frantz, it's an absolute honour!" She cried, instantly bowing deeply. But Frantz just shook his head and adjusted his glasses.
"No need, no need! You are my new muse! You simply must allow me to give you this!" He exclaimed, handing her a set of cards. Asuka gracefully accepted them, but looked up at Frantz in shock.
"But… this is a coord, Frantz." She said. The man nodded.
"Yes! It doesn't suit you nearly enough, but if you wait and see, I'll have a better coord ready for you when the time comes to film the commercial." Frantz nodded, pushing his glasses up. Asuka opened her mouth to protest, or at the very least deeply thank him, but he cut her off. "Inspire me more, Space Princess. I look forward to seeing what you can do with this design." He winked before walking away, leaving Manjoume and Asuka staring after him.
"I told you he liked you." Manjoume said, shrugging.
And there we go! We finally get to see Manjoume and Asuka interact! What do you guys think? Does Manjoume really like Asuka? Is Asuka judging him too much? Who knows? I mean, I'm supposed to but uh... we'll figure something out, right? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it, you got a double update here, after all ;)
/Madolche Anjelly