Chapter 6
Pastel✽Beginnings
"I need you! I love you―" A pink-haired girl abruptly stopped her singing and put away her mic stand. "―wait, why do we perform this song?"
Hina Hikawa, still clinging to the mic stand, replied, "Cause this is the only idol song that's familiar to all of us!" She formed a peace sign beside her eyes and winked.
"Heavy rotation…!"
The voice came from a TV that played the video of AKB48's concert. A group of girls was moving their bodies around, accompanied by a song that became a major hit some years back.
A Japanese-Finnish girl spoke up, "Heavy Rotation was the only Japanese idol song that became trending back in Finland…" Her shoulders declined. "I'm so sorry for my lack of knowledge."
A girl who wore a pair of half-rimmed glasses added, "I'm not too familiar with this genre as well, to be honest. And I always moved the wrong way." She let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry…"
Aya shook her head. "N-no, it's not your fault, Eve-chan, Maya-chan!"
A week had passed since Hina went to the meeting at the agency. It was pretty straightforward, even for Hina's standard. The producer directly announced that Hina, along with a few other girls were gathered there to form an idol band named Pastel✽Palettes.
Since Hina decided to take up guitar, she pictured herself in a common pop or rock band. But an idol band? Were they supposed to be dancing around while playing instruments? It reminded her of dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling. And the thought of doing that with a guitar intrigued her.
Aya turned her eyes to Hina. "We should perfect 'Shuwarin Drea~min' instead of doing dance covers!" The twin-tail haired girl said in a panic. "O-our debut is just a few days away…!"
"You went along for a few minutes, tho."
Aya blushed and smiled sheepishly.
"I'm bored… We've been practicing the same song for a week." Hina pouted. "Besides, it's not like we're going to sing or play instruments during the live. They're going to play a pre-recorded song, anyway."
"I know, b-but that's―" Aya's sentence was cut halfway. She looked down and seemed at a loss for words.
Maya sighed. "Well, you're right about that, though…"
"Fake-playing isn't very bushido-like." Eve wore a glum face.
Silence fell. Hina didn't understand why her friends went all sullen. The girl was just stating the truth.
Though, to be honest, Hina was confused about the pretend-playing business at first. Why would the agency hold a guitarist audition in the first place if the winner would just fake around?
This whole situation was weird, yet interesting at the same time.
Thus, instead of moping around, Hina chose to go along with the act. The agency might be in a rush, so they went with this kind of shortcut. After the debut performance, the other band members might undergo some kind of intensive training and eventually perform for real.
The studio door opened, revealing a woman in semi-formal attire. She was the manager of Pastel✽Palettes.
"Huh, you girls are still here? I thought the music lesson had ended a while ago."
"Good evening, Miyagi-san!" Aya waved at their manager. She switched to her merry mode in a blink of an eye.
"You've been working hard these past few days," said Miyagi. "Don't overdo it though, okay?"
"But, the debut…"
Miyagi smiled. "Taking care of the members' health is part of my job, you know."
Aya eventually gave in. A few minutes later the girls wrapped up their practice and made their way out of the agency building. But as they were walking across the hallway, a loud growl suddenly filled the air.
Hina tilted her head toward the vocalist. "Aya-chan, are you that famished?" she teased.
"W-what makes you think I'm the one who's responsible?"
"Welp, you and I are the only ones who would go doing stupid stuff in front of others~" Hina stuck out her tongue. "Besides, Eve-chan and Maya-chan don't strike me as growly-tummy types."
"Hmph! Hina-chan, you meanie!" Aya pouted.
Hina laughed out loud, while Eve and Maya chuckled.
Eve then stroked her palms. "Oh! How about we eat out somewhere?"
Hina nodded in agreement. "I'm in!" She made eye contact with Aya again. "The other passengers will stareee so hard if you growl on the train~"
"Why are you always teasing me…?" asked Aya, whose expression resembled a sad puppy.
Hina grinned. "Your reactions are fun to watch, that's why!"
»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«
Hina and her bandmates ate out after their intensive training session. They chose a family restaurant near the train station. The place was packed with people, as they came during dinnertime. Its waiters and waitresses were moving around like bees; busily taking orders and delivering the dishes.
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Aya Maruyama aya_pasupa2712 · 6:39 PM
It feels unreal that we're going to debut in just a few days *✧
I can't wait to perform in front of the audience! (*ˊᵕˋ*)
┗━━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━━┛
"Hey, you forgot to add "lip-syncing" in that tweet~" Hina Hikawa pointed at her friend with a spoon.
"D-don't say that out loud, Hina-chan!"
Hina giggled. "When did you post that anyway?" she asked.
"Mm? When you were searching for 'Heavy Rotation' videos." Aya fiddled at her phone. Her typing speed was surprisingly fast.
"Here's your serving of Giga Fries Platter!" A waitress placed a platter of fries and smiled at everyone present at Pastel✽Palettes' table.
"Yaay, thankies! Time to dig in!" Hina raised her hands to the air. She immediately took a couple of fries and looked at her friends. "Hey, go grab 'em before it's cold~"
"Oh, I can have them?" Maya pointed at herself, which Hina replied with a nod. She took a couple of fries and dipped them into a bowl of tartar sauce. As the girl munched at the food, her face was filled with delight. "Whoa... This is as good as you said, huhehe!"
Maya Yamato, initially filled-in as a support drummer, was later recruited to become a full-fledged member of Pastel✽Palettes. The girl frequently talked about tidbits of sound equipment, which fascinated Hina. And she happened to attend Haneoka, the same school as Hina.
Eve, meanwhile, expressed her enjoyment in a rather unusual word choice: "You're right, Hina-san! It's a feast befitting our conclave!"
Eve Wakamiya was a model at the agency prior to joining Pastel✽Palettes. She was born and raised in Finland but later moved to her father's home country of Japan. Although the girl had a frail lady-like appearance, she loved to imitate samurai.
"Aya-san, aren't you going to eat?" Maya asked the girl who sat across her. The person she referred to glanced at the platter and mumbled inaudibly since they began eating.
Aya Maruyama, the vocalist of Pastel✽Palettes, was the clumsy one of the group. Hina found it amusing whenever the former idol trainee went all panicky as she sang off notes or messing up the MC session. She did better in expressing herself via Twitter and other social networks, though.
Hina swung a menu book beside Giga Fries Platter in an effort to blow away its mouth-watering smell toward her friend. "You can't resist the temptation of potatoes!"
"Hina-chan, stop it!" Aya looked away, but the girl quickly wavered as she took a peek at the platter again. "...Is it okay to consume fried foods before a live show?"
Hina leaned her head to her hand. She gave Aya a teasing smile and said, "Nah, they will play a pre-recorded voice, anyway~"
"Shuush!" The other three placed their index finger in front of their lips.
"Besides, aren't you ordering an omelet that contains fried rice?" Hina shrugged.
Pastel✽Palettes members couldn't disclose about the lip-syncing and fake-playing business to the public, as stated in their written contract. Hina recalled that she almost fell asleep when she read that boring bundle of paper, yet Eve said it might help them not to stray the path of bushido.
"Look, Chisato-chan's new drama will air next week!"
Aya pointed at the restaurant's TV. It showed a commercial of an upcoming TV drama. It featured their bassist, Chisato Shirasagi, in a scene where she found an abandoned puppy in the middle of the rain.
Hina bet the show would be another tear-jerking drama, like numerous stories about the furry friends she had seen before. It reminded her of Sayo, who used to be the first to cry as well as the last to stop whenever they watched dog movies. Her big sister always had a soft spot for canines.
"Come to think of it, Chisato-san always leave straight away when our music lessons end." Eve took another fries. "Maybe it's related to this show?"
"Hmm, it might be the case…" said Maya.
"Aww, the dog is so cute like a plush doll!" Aya commented. "I wonder what breed it is…."
"It's a Westie, I think~" Hina answered. "Oh, speaking of dogs makes me remember onee-chan! You're a second-year student at Hanasakigawa, right? Do you know her?"
"Sister?" Aya asked back. Her eyes then widened. "Sayo Hikawa is your big sister!"
Hina imitates the sound effect of a buzzer. "Ding ding! A hundred points for Aya-chan!"
"Sayo-san the impregnable fortress?!" Eve slammed the table in surprise, startling her fellow bandmates as well as other customers. Realizing her mistake, she immediately bowed and apologized to everyone.
"Impregnable fortress?" Maya turned her face to Eve, Hina, then Aya. "Wa-wait, are we talking about a warlord now?"
"I met Sayo-san on the first day of school…" Eve stared at the distance. "I wanted to express the spirit of bushido by swinging a wooden sword at the school gate. But then Sayo-san came and asked me to hand the sword―oh, you must be confused, Maya-san! She's a disciplinary committee at Hanasakigawa―and she didn't flinch, no matter how much I begged for mercy..." She let out a sigh.
Hina laughed. "Welp, that's onee-chan for sure!"
"You bought a wooden sword?" asked Aya in disbelief.
"Mm? Isn't the kendo club members armed with bamboo swords, too?"
Maya chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they don't carry it outside the dojo…"
The waitress returned with more food consisting of omelet rice, double cheeseburger, spaghetti with meatballs, and pork cutlet bowl. Aya drew an emoji on her omelet rice with ketchup, snapped a photo, then uploaded it on Twitter. Eve and Maya, meanwhile, didn't bother to decorate their dinner, let alone took a photo of them.
"Say, how did you know onee-chan?" Hina took the top bun of her double cheeseburger and placed a few french fries between the lettuce. "Did she confiscate your stuff, too?"
"I hope it won't ever come to that." Aya smiled. "We're just classmates."
"Really?! How's she like at school?" Hina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Tell me, tell me! Pretty please~"
"Mm, we haven't talked much…" Aya put her phone on the table. "I guess she's the polar opposite of you?"
"Cool and serious, you mean?" Hina repositioned the top bun of her burger, then lifted the junk food from its plate.
Aya nodded. "And she's very helpful in class! Just the other day, she …"
Hina listened intently while she consumed her burger. Relief filled her heart, knowing that Sayo was doing fine at school. Years of the cold war made her know literally nothing, after all.
»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«
"I'm home!"
Hina exclaimed cheerfully as she walked into the foyer of Hikawa residence. She put her shoes in the shoe cabinet and switched footwear into home sandals. Barkings could be heard from the living room. Her parents must've been watching a dog show.
"Mom, Dad―huh, Onee-chan?"
Hina didn't expect to see Sayo when she entered the living room. The long-haired girl was alone, watching TV while playing the guitar or the other way round. That was rare. She usually practiced in her own bedroom.
"Oh, you're home," said Sayo. She pulled a cord that was connecting her navy blue guitar with its mini amp and placed all of the instruments on an empty coffee table. "Where have you been until this late?"
"I was having dinner with a Finnish samurai warlord and her friends!"
Sayo frowned. "You and your nonsense…"
Hina approached the sofa and sat on it, right beside her older twin. "Where's Mom and Dad?"
"On a date night at DisneySea," Sayo answered. "Didn't they tell you?"
Hina checked her phone. Right; she missed some messages from both of her parents. Dad sent two photos of a Donald Duck pillow and asked whether Hina liked it, while Mom spammed a bunch of Disney characters' parade as well as some date photos.
"Aww, mom and dad are just like newlyweds!" Hina said gleefully, but seconds later her expression turned into a pout. "It's a bummer they didn't invite us, tho… I wanna hug Donald."
"Geez, are you a kid?" Sayo crossed her hands.
Hina grinned.
...Wait, was it just her feeling or Sayo's mood tonight was much better than usual?
Hina hugged her sister's arm and gleefully said, "You're in a good mood, Onee-chan! Something boppin' happened today?"
Sayo blushed due to the sudden physical contact. "L-let go of me, Hina!" She turned her reddened face away. "Just go to the bath already."
"Okey dokey~" Hina replied as she let go of her sister's arm. She really needed to soak in a bathtub of hot water, anyway, but not before she typed some replies to her parents.
Sayo was also checking messages on her phone. Hina glanced at Sayo's screen and spotted a LINE chat with someone who used a kitten as a profile picture. She only caught a glimpse that they were planning to meet tomorrow and mentioned a circle. Hina raised her eyebrow.
Circle?
She wondered if Sayo joined a self-publishing group. Hina didn't know much about her sister's activities these days, so this was surprising. Furthermore, what kind of manga or novel her sister was working on?
"...Hey, Onee-chan."
"Yes?" Sayo was still focused on her phone, though she already moved on to another chatroom.
"Are you into BL?"
Sayo immediately turned her head. The guitarist didn't need to utter a single word, but judging from her expression, she probably said, "Are you fucking kidding me?".
"Guess it's a no?"
Hina shrugged and got up from the sofa. As the younger twin made her way upstairs, a melody of the dog show's theme song began to play. It didn't come from the TV; it was Sayo playing her guitar.
Whatever happened today, she was glad that Sayo seemed to have fun.