"We're only doing this for the fans, you got that?" The blonde tossed away her cigarette before letting out a final exhale of smoke. "Don't think this even changes anything."

The blue-haired woman leaned against the wall as underpaid technical and production crew members scrambled across the room, desperately trying to set up the stage on time before the concert was due to start in four hours. It was conditions like this, added with the increased social anxiety she wouldn't dare speak about, that led her to leave the industry altogether, even if it meant abandoning her friend and partner at the height of their career.

She would never be forgiven for that.

"Still as stubborn as ever, huh? I told you from the start it was never personal."

"Maybe for you, Karin." The blonde idol's voice cracked a bit under her tough exterior built up from surviving the music world. "But it was personal to me. And no amount of you saying it wasn't isn't going to make it any less true."

The retired idol took a moment to collect herself before reaching an arm out to her former friend's shoulder, only to be immediately and aggressively brushed off.

"Don't…" Ai gave the woman who was once her friend a look of scorn. "Don't even try to console me. You had your chance to do that when you quit, but instead you just walked away."

"What the hell are you even talking about? I didn't-"

"I bet you think the reason I'm upset is because you quit. It wasn't…" The blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow at the blonde's words. "I could understand if being a full-time musician wasn't something you wanted, especially with all the unwanted attention and stress it brings."

"It's the fact you had to abandon me without a word to my face that I'm upset about."

"Oh, you think I abandoned you!?" Karin couldn't help but scoff. "Please, all you cared about was the fame and attention to build some pointless, shitty legacy. Meanwhile, you didn't even have the faintest idea what I was going through."

"Because you didn't even bother to fucking tell me!"

The raise in the blonde's voice startled them both, the event staff freezing from their work for a moment before carrying on.

"You could've told me anything Karin, and I would've listened. You were…" Ai rubbed her face while squinting her eyes for a moment. "You were the person I relied on the most at that moment, after everyone left to pursue their dreams. Before Rinari…"

"I'm sorry." The blue-haired woman averted her eyes, lacking the strength to look at her former music partner anymore. "I know it means nothing to you, but I really don't know what, if there's even anything, I can say anymore."

The blonde took a moment to recompose herself, wiping her face with a towel in her pocket before sighing.

"Whatever. It's not like I'm even going to see you again. After tonight, we can just move on and forget we ever crossed paths. It would probably be for the best after all."

"Ai…"

But the idol began walking away, passing by the busy staff as she opened the door to her dressing room. Before she entered the room though, she gave one last look to her former friend.

"At least we'll be giving DiverDiva a proper disbandment this time." Ai let out a melancholic smile before disappearing through the wooden door. "Good luck tonight, Karin."