January 31, 2003

Beauty Supply Warehouse

"Honoka? Why do you want to dye your hair?"

"I'm not gonna dye all my hair, silly! Just a few highlights, that's all."

"Why though?"

"Hm.. I don't know. Maybe because I have a feeling that I should do things I've always wanted to try or else I would regret not having done it?"

…

Why?

- June 28, 2005

Nijigasaki High School

Yu was sitting in front of a laptop. Staring at the video upload on the poorly made website blankly, she was waiting for any comments to pop up.

*Ding!*

Yu snapped back to reality in an instant, dragging the cursor towards the inbox button and clicking it. An anonymous comment was published for the video.

"Being a school idol isn't all fun and games. Don't expect that being constantly optimistic and naïve will get you anywhere."

Wow.

Yu glared at the comment, already getting pissed off. The past few days have been nothing but hell for the School Idol Club. The new student council president's trying to shut it down, the students are laughing at them in the hallways, Ayumu and Yu are getting humiliated during class, a never ending cycle of suffering. Yu wasn't gonna let it get to her, though. The others as well. What's so bad about being optimistic and being hopeful? Nothings wrong with having a dream or a goal. Those kids are probably just jealous. It's not like the incident with Muse will affect any school idol group wanting to shine, right?

Yu just sighed. Maybe that comment could be right. Nothing in life will always go the way you plan it to be. That may open a door for more opportunities, but it just mostly leads to giving up.

It's almost time for afternoon classes. Might as well head back.

Walking in the hallways is like hiding from paparazzi for Yu. Several students eyed her and giggled, friends whispering in each other's ears, stirring up even more lies. She was already exhausted from dealing with the negativity, and chose to ignore it all.

The moment Yu entered her classroom, she spotted a group of girls huddled up at a table. They were laughing and pointing towards a computer screen.

"Haha. They look like they're straight out of a TV show."

"More like straight out of a shojo anime!"

"They're way too cheerful and optimistic, it's sickening. Haha."

"Comment something like this. That'll show them something."

Yu clenched her fist and walked inside. The girls noticed her presence and laughed at her, calling her names. Yu ignored the commotion and sat down, waiting for Ayumu to come in.

Somehow the girls noticed Yu was waiting for Ayumu, and decided that now was their chance for some teasing. Two of the girls stood up and walked towards her.

"Hey, Takasaki. Can I have your autograph?"

Yu just stayed silent.

"Stubborn, much? Where's the "sweet and cheery Yu Takasaki the whole school's yapping about? The one who wants to risk 9 girls' lives to be school idols? You're sick in the head, forcing those girls to pursue fake dreams for your own sake. It's that obvious, you know."

"Yeah, I feel sorry for them, especially Uehara-san, the one in our class. She was dragged into this too."

Yu stared at the girls in disbelief. What the hell? They're crazy!

One of the girls slammed their hand on Yu's desk and glared at her with eyes of hatred.

"Everyone here hates you. You loser. Good for nothing selfish bitch. Snap back to reality and realize the world doesn't revolve around you. What happened to Muse two years ago, do you want it to happen again? Do you want everyone to turn against each other and-"

"That's enough."

The girl laughed. "Haha! Yeah right, as if I'm done with you."

"I said, that's enough."

An angry Ayumu stood behind the girls, staring at them with disappointment.

"Oh, hey Uehara-san.."

"Why would you say all that?" She asked.

"Uh.."

"Let me tell you, right here and right now, I became a school idol so I can pursue my own dreams. And so did the rest of us. Even Yu-chan."

The girls tried to regain their composure. One of them smirked and said, "You don't have to lie, y'know. It's pretty obvious that-"

"Yu-chan did not force all of us to become school idols. We all joined at our own will. So stop blaming everything on her and leave us alone. We've all had it with your rumors. Spreading rumors about someone who did absolutely nothing to you is just messed up. Either you're just jealous or maybe, you're the one messed up in the head. Just leave us alone now. Please."

And with that, Ayumu shoved the two girls out of the way, pulled Yu's hand and left the classroom with her.