"To think I was so troubled by the little bit of fame being an idol brought me. I was sure in for a surprise after everything!"
- Naru Narusegawa; 'On a Wing and a Storm'
Chapter IV:
The Idol Shooting for Tokyo U is a Prep School Student
Sing
May 9, 2006
Hinata City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
1322 hours, local time
The spotlight flashed on in the darkened pub, its sudden illumination causing Shinobu to flinch as the glaring light shone down on her. "Her irresistible vulnerability is in full bloom!" called out the voice of Kentaro in showman's fashion. "Introducing your runner-up, fifteen year old Maehara Shinobu-chan!"
Scattered applause met this proclamation as she blushed luminously, stammering over her words which in turn, only prompted more calls of her cuteness from the scattered audience.
Kentaro only allowed it to carry on for a few moments before the spotlight shifted onto him. His entire posture exuded how perfectly comfortable he was in the spotlight, truly a born showman. Bringing the microphone to his lips, he drew up his other arm in preparation and then announced, "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for…"
A pre-recorded drumroll started to play, and he paused for effect to look out over the crowd. At this time of day, it largely consisted of the elders of the city and a scattered handful of other locals and a few tourists. The table closest to the stage had a folded paper placard that designated it as the judge's table. Further in the back were a handful of the tenants from the Hinata apartments, here to support their friends.
"I, Sakata Kentaro, and my colleagues at the K University production club, present the winner of the Hinata City idol contest! The winner is…" Another spotlight flickered on, the girl standing underneath it looking off to the side with a light smile, seeming to be lost in thought. "…Narusegawa Naru-san!"
At the sound of her name, Naru's attention snapped forward, blinking in confusion as more scattered applause came from the audience. Surely there had to be some mistake. How had she managed to win this contest that she'd only 'signed up for' by dint of Kentaro putting her name in for consideration and she had simply failed to tell him not to.
But no, there was no mistake. Kentaro reached up to slide a thin paper banner onto her shoulders as he said, "Congratulations, Narusegawa-san, you're the winner! As of now, you will represent Hinata City as its new celebrity idol, so do your best!"
Seated at the furthest table along with Haruka, Keitaro, and Seno, Motoko leaned over the table to ask in a hushed voice, "Is this a good idea? Naru-senpai has far more important things to worry about than being an idol."
Haruka rested her chin on her hand, lazily watching the proceedings as she stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray in front of her. "It's just college kids having fun," she disagreed. "Who knows, a little diversion like this might do her good."
Keitaro didn't seem to share the excitement of his not-so-secret love interest's victory, a tremble visible in his shoulders as he said, "I… I guess you're right." He turned away from facing the stage to look toward the others. "I can't imagine her as a real idol. Just because she won some college contest doesn't mean she'll be able to break into the idol business, right?"
There was a discreet venom to his voice, but it was enough for the other three to easily notice it. Setting down the cup he was drinking from, Seno raised an eyebrow at his friend's outburst. "That is like the most unfriendly thing I've ever heard you say about her," he deadpanned. He didn't need to be a mind reader to know that the vitriol came from Keitaro's very real fear that if Naru made it in the idol industry then her idyllic life at the Hinata would be a thing of the past.
He chose not to point this out to the others, not wanting to call out Keitaro like that. "Though you're probably right," he said instead, peering down into his empty cup. "No way it's that easy to be the next big thing."
City Streets, Outside of LAWSON, Hinata City
1426 hours, local time
Apparently, it was that easy to be the next big thing.
A wave of feedback static washed out over the crowd gathered outside the Lawson convenience store, where a temporary stage had been set up following the conclusion of the idol contest. Still wearing the ribbon that declared her as 'HINATA CITY IDOL', Naru stood on the stage and winced at the noise.
Beside her, Kentaro didn't seem at all bothered by it, speaking into the microphone, "And now, it's my great pleasure to introduce to you Hinata City Hot Spring Council's celebrity idol, Narusegawa Naru-san."
The dozen or so people standing in front of them clapped politely as Naru smiled and bowed. Being the center of attention in front of a crowd was new and nerve-wracking, but everyone before her seemed friendly enough so she didn't have to worry about any type of anxiety from all the attention.
"Although I'm not at liberty to name any names," Kentaro continued, "she's a student at a prestigious university in Tokyo, isn't that right, Naru-san?"
Naru blinked twice, then her expression twisted in confusion as she squinted over at him. "Huh? But that's not true—"
He swiftly leaned in closer to her, holding the microphone away as he whispered to her, "You're an idol now, so building up your image is key."
Without batting an eye, Naru reached down and snatched the microphone out of his hand while simultaneously shoving him aside with her free hand. She understood that image was important to an idol, but she had no intention of starting off with a lie of that magnitude. Smiling broadly, she lifted the microphone and said, "Hello, everyone! The truth is that I'm still a prep school student trying to pass my entrance exams!"
That correction came as a surprise to the gathered crowd, but the honest, earnest way in which Naru owned being a 'ronin' student managed to charm them with a unique characteristic. And thus, a career was made that day.
May 11, 2006
Room 204, Hinata Apartments
0952 hours, local time
"Geez, it's so amazing seeing all this media coverage all of a sudden," Kitsune remarked, casually leaning on the table in Keitaro's room and thumbing through the dozens of magazines and papers featuring Naru. Picking one out of the pile, she held it up and said, "Lookie here at this one: 'A star is born!'"
She set the magazine down on the table and flipped through it, searching for the cover article. "And if you just go by her pictures, it's not hard to see that she's definitely going places."
At the other end of the table, his back to the TV droning idly as background noise, Keitaro scoffed at that proclamation. "A hot-tempered girl like her will show her true colors soon enough, and they'll see how rough around the edges she really is," he groused, then side-eyed the sandy-haired trickster. "More to the point, why are you choosing to read magazines in my room?"
Grinning like the sly fox she took her nickname from, Kitsune swiftly slid around the side of the table, then flopped down on top of it, avoiding the magazines while smirking up at Keitaro. "It's 'cos you've been collecting every single one that's come out with Naru's face on it!"
His cheeks reddening at being called out like that, he ignored that answer in favor of pressing on with his earlier remarks. "It's not like she's a real idol anyway," he insisted. "She's just a small town celebrity. Once her fifteen minutes of fame are up, she'll be back here soon enough."
"Hello, everyone!" Naru's voice called out into the room.
"See, and right after I said it, too!" Keitaro proclaimed, giving a smug smirk that he'd probably picked up from Seno over the years.
"Not so fast, mister," Kitsune said with an infuriating grin of her own, poking Keitaro's shoulder several times before pointing behind him. "Look there."
He spun around to face the TV, where the droll news program he'd turned on was now replaced with a promotion featuring Naru, smiling broadly as she spoke to her TV audience. Both Keitaro and Kitsune, more than familiar with the newly-minted idol's personality, thought her smile still looked a bit forced.
"Are you studying hard, everyone? Narusegawa Naru here!" Her on-screen image lifted one hand up in a wave, while Keitaro gawked in shock at the screen. Kitsune had returned to a normal seated position on the floor, resting her elbow on the table.
"I have an exciting special announcement to make. Today, I signed a record deal for my first CD! I've always loved singing, so I'm very thrilled!"
Keitaro wasn't the only one who feared that Naru becoming a full-fledged idol would be a life-changing event; Kitsune's smile became brittle. "Looks like she's the real deal, after all…" she drawled, wistfully.
"Wh-what's she doing on TV?" Keitaro blurted.
"I hope everyone enjoys my songs as much as I enjoy singing them!"
Naru's first performance was recorded in a studio with no audience. She was completely unknown as a performer, so the voice and dance coaches had not gone easy on her. The vast majority of several days had been spent under their tutelage, leaving hardly enough time to sleep and eat, let alone spend time on her studies. The results spoke for themselves though, her first performance a well-polished product delivered to the world. Thus, it was left to see how the fans would react to her debut.
Ashita e mukau jikan ni makenai you ni
Kaze o kitte kakedasou yo motto!
Kokoro no kui no nokoranai mainichi o okuri nagara
Ganbatteru kimi ni ageru egao no mirai o
At times you face tomorrow, unrelentingly
Cut through the wind and sprint a bit more!
In your heart, there remains no regret. As you live everyday,
You're doing your best. I'll give to you a future of smiles.
To her credit, Naru had incredible natural voice talent and took well to the dance lessons. Though she didn't move much in her initial debut, her gestures were expressive and earnestly conveyed the feelings of her song. That and her own beauty went a long way to endearing her to the fans, earning her a vast and immediate following.
May 18
No time at all was wasted capitalizing on the popularity of her debut. Her next performance came in front of a live studio audience, with higher production values and more moving about and dancing on stage. Dozens of flashing multicolored lights shone down on her, reflecting off the more idol-like dress she wore this time.
Sumookii na jibun no michi okoru okoru aruita
Mayotte, tsumazuite,
Doro darake no mune no itami naki nagara haratta ne
Kuchibiru, kamishimete
Genjitsu wa kanari kibishii kedo
Koko made kita atsui yume no inochi tayasanai de
You walked timidly on your own smoky path.
You got lost, tripped and
While you cried, you wiped off the pain on your muddy chest.
You bit down on your lips.
Reality is quite harsh, but
The life of a loving dream has made it here. Don't let it be extinguished.
But behind the glitz and the glamor, the perfect smile she put on for the crowd didn't last beyond the stage. While her voice coaches were more than satisfied with her vocals, her dance coaches did not share that enthusiasm. Criticizing her for coming across as too timid in her movements, they had her practicing over and over again. Once more, results were achieved as the moves became muscle memory, but the constant practices with little rest had left her exhausted. The scant little time she did get to herself to try and study more often than not found her passing out from sheer exhaustion.
May 24
By the time of her third performance, Naru had skyrocketed to the top of the charts, the number one idol in Japan, and her skills had only improved to match. Now she danced and jumped about the stage with an incredible energy, the screaming and cheering fans filling the stadium feeding off her energy and energizing her in turn. Transformed into an otherworldly beauty by makeup, dress, and hair, the starlet barely resembled the would-be Todai student that she had been not even a month ago.
Ashita e mukau jikan ni makenai you ni
Kaze o kitte kakedasou yo motto!
Ikutsu mono kizu o seotte sore demo chiisana hane o
Tabatakasete oozora e to mezasu kimi ga suki
At times you face tomorrow, unrelentingly
Cut through the wind and sprint a bit more!
Despite having many scars, it's you, who takes flight with a small feather heading towards the vast open sky, that I love.
And now that she'd felt that reaction from a real audience, Naru found herself truly enjoying her unplanned career as an idol. She'd finally appeased her dance coaches, though to her chagrin, her reward for that had been increasingly-complex dance routines. She still got little sleep, and even less time to herself, but the roar of her fans, the rush of adrenaline, helped balance that a little. Though the fans didn't truly know the real her, and the love they screamed at her could generously be described as shallow, perhaps quantity rather than quality could fill the void in her heart she carefully hid from everyone.
Yes, she told herself, that sort of lie could be love enough for her.
And through it all, feverishly tuning in to every performance and TV interview, Naru's number one fan never failed to enthusiastically voice his support at every opportunity. Regretfully, Keitaro had not managed to get a ticket to her most recent show, even with Seno's help trying to get one. But that didn't stop him from watching it live on TV, dressed in a fan shirt with Naru's name and image emblazoned on the back.
"Go! Go! Naru-chan!" he chanted to the beat of her song, one hand thrust high into the air and the other cupping his mouth to amplify his voice. "Shoot for Todai! You can do it!"
As the broadcast came to an end and silence fell over his room, Keitaro let his hands fall to his side, slumping over where he sat with a heavy sigh of vexation. "What am I doing?" he groused.
Kaolla stood up from where she'd been sitting a few paces behind him, similarly dressed as he was, having also been enjoying the broadcast of Naru's performance. She turned away from him and crossed her arms as though facing an unseen audience as she dramatically stated, "Good question."
Regular interviews likewise became a standard fixture in Naru's life. To her surprise, it hadn't taken her very long at all to become accustomed to being surrounded by crowds of reporters and the accompanying sea of microphones and cameras.
What she had not become accustomed to—or rather, that still irritated her—was the way that Kentaro, acting as her manager, continually attempted to imply that there was anything other than a business relationship between them.
"What do you have to say concerning the rumors that you and your manager have become involved?" a reporter asked.
Before she could organize her thoughts into a response, Kentaro gave an obnoxious laugh and took a step closer to her, putting his arm around her and resting a hand on her shoulder. Ignoring her disdainful look, he flashed a smile for the cameras and answered, "Oh, well, about that—"
With a casual grace, Naru reached up, gripped one of his fingers, and twisted until he removed his hand from her shoulder. All the while, she put on her 'idol' smile and cheerfully said, "No, he's just my manager and nothing more."
May 28
Dining Room, Hinata Apartments
0815 hours, local time
As is depressingly common in the world of entertainment, the tabloids ran with the picture of Kentaro's arm around Naru and a doubling down of the rumors, ignoring entirely that she had rebuked them.
"They really leaned hard on the novelty of her being a prep school idol," Kitsune remarked, leaning her arm on top of Keitaro's head as she read the 'article' over his shoulder. At his heavy sigh, she took pity and stepped away, walking around the table to her seat. "I bet her school's eatin' up all this free publicity."
Across the table from Keitaro, Motoko followed Kitsune's path with her gaze, musing aloud, "It seems that Sakata Kentaro is using Naru-senpai's popularity to launch his own talent agency."
Seno, seated at the end of the table on Motoko's right, lowered his bowl of rice with a deep exhale. He took a moment to let his food settle before speaking, "Just say it how it is. He's taking advantage of her talent." Lifting his bowl again and peering down into it, he added under his breath, "Better be all he's taking advantage of…"
"It almost sounds like you hate all this more than Keitaro does," Kitsune said teasingly.
"He has shown clear dislike for Sakata from the very beginning," Motoko pointed out. It seemed even she was getting in on the teasing.
The swordsman raised an eyebrow at the interjection, his smirk of amusement hidden by his bowl. "Well, I don't like sleazes or snake oil salesmen."
And the idle rich idiot clearly had eyes for Naru, which interfered with Seno's own backing of the slowly-building relationship between Keitaro and Naru. But he didn't need to air that particular bit of laundry in front of the others. He preferred being a bit less overt when it came to being Keitaro's wingman.
Keitaro remained silent on the matter, still fixated on the tabloid he was reading. Beside him, Shinobu watched with clear concern on her face, seeing that he likewise wasn't eating. "Umm… Urashima-senpai, can I get you some more rice? Or something else?"
Kitsune grinned over at the younger girl. "Just leave him be for now. I think he's lost his appetite from all this."
"I have not!" Keitaro protested. He promptly tore the tabloid to shreds, most of the scraps falling into his rice bowl. Which he then promptly lifted and began shoveling into his mouth—rice and paper scraps both—while making obnoxious eating sounds. "Wow, this tastes great, Shinobu-chan!"
The others exchanged silent, worried glances. This was just the latest in a series of poor attempts on Keitaro's part to hide the fact that he was badly affected by Naru no longer being around the Hinata.
"He's got it bad," Kitsune drawled.
Seno, in an effort to alleviate some of the tension, deadpanned, "Man's getting his fiber, at least."
This prompted giggles from Shinobu and Kitsune, and even Motoko had to hide a smile behind her hand.
The sound of a car engine drawing closer, followed by a car door opening and slamming shut, drew the attention of both Seno and Kaolla. While the swordsman simply leaned back in his seat to peer out the nearby window, Kaolla jumped out of her seat to press her face against it.
"Oh, it's Naru!" she proclaimed.
That announcement brought the proverbial life back to Keitaro's eyes. He lowered his bowl of rice and paper scraps, then without a word set it on the table and got up to head into the entrance hall.
Just as he arrived, Naru had disappeared up the stairs, her rapid footsteps echoing from the floors above. Knowing that she would pass that way again, he simply crossed his arms and waited. Sure enough, only a few minutes later she came speed-walking past to the front door, a stack of folded clothing held in her arms.
"Ah, Narusegawa!" he called out as she passed.
Pausing just before she reached the shoe alcove, Naru turned around to face him. "What is it?" she asked, though not with any real annoyance or impatience. "I'm kind of in a big hurry right now."
Keitaro rubbed the back of his head a bit self-consciously as he took a few steps closer. "Well… it's nothing really, we just haven't seen you much around here for a while."
Her gaze flickered down to the floor, her entire posture radiating the sadness she felt at being away from her friends and the place she considered home. "I know…" she said softly. "All the PR sessions and fan meet-and-greets and TV appearances have kept me busy." Lifting her gaze again, she noticed a scrap of paper stuck to Keitaro's face. Shifting her bundle of clothes to pin them in place with her chin, she reached out to pluck it away as she continued, "And now I've been signed up to voice the lead role on some anime about a guy living with a bunch of girls. I heard it's supposed to be kind of steamy. I might see if I can get out of that one."
"Huh, that sounds troublesome," he murmured, taking the scrap of paper and leaning over to drop it in the small trash can nearby. "Thanks, by the way."
He smiled at her, and was answered with a smile in turn.
And like clockwork, that was when Kentaro slid into the scene, physically stepping between the two of them to throw in his own ten yen. "So you see, it's far more convenient to live out of a hotel," he explained. "Which we should really be getting back to. She just stopped by to grab a few essentials."
"A hotel?" Keitaro asked.
"Of course!" the other man replied, his tone matter-of-fact, as if Keitaro had asked if the sky was blue. "Naturally, she's staying at the same hotel as I am. We have separate rooms for now, but I'm sure it won't be long before we're sharing a room."
Naru was extremely quick to shake her head vehemently while looking Keitaro in the eye, the worry that he would take Kentaro's words the wrong way written all over her face. "Don't listen to him, Keitaro, I would never—"
"Well, we're out of time now," Kentaro butted in, taking Naru by the shoulders and pushing her toward the front door, hardly even giving her time to get her shoes back on. "Time to go!"
Keitaro could only watch, crestfallen, as she was pushed out the door. It felt like a painful metaphor to him, that she was being pushed out of his very life. "I'm glad your idol career is going so well…" he said quietly, knowing she was already out of earshot. "But what about… Todai…?"
Back in the dining room, the others had heard every word. Shinobu was on the verge of tears at hearing how downtrodden Keitaro's voice was, and even Kaolla and Kitsune wore scowls from what they'd heard Kentaro say.
The chopsticks in Seno's hand groaned in protest, threatening to snap in half if he gripped them any more tightly. "How many years in jail do you figure I'd get if I stabbed him?" he growled.
Motoko was the only one who seemed to be calm in any way, slowly sipping her tea with both hands supporting the cup. After a moment, she lowered the cup, eyes still closed, and said in a completely serene tone, "I will vouch for your character. Surely, we can plead temporary insanity."
"That's super rare to get away with here…" Kitsune murmured.
June 2
Hinata Apartments
2319 hours, local time
With a low groan, Keitaro lifted his head from where he'd fallen asleep on his desk. Scattered across the table in front of him were a half dozen sketches of Naru, some of them in her idol outfits that she'd already worn, some of them wholly new outfits that he'd dreamed up on his own. Someone had come by and turned off the lights in his room.
Reaching up a hand to cover a yawn, he leaned backwards to stretch his back and his arms. A satisfying crack came from his lower spine, and as he sighed in relief, he noticed light spilling around the edges of the hole in his ceiling.
Now more awake than if he'd taken a shot of pure adrenaline, he clambered up onto his desk, then jumped with all his might to grab the edges of the hole and pull himself up. Elbowing the plank—and the Liddo-kun doll sitting on top of it—aside, he squinted at the sudden brightness of the lights in Naru's room, but nonetheless hauled himself up to support himself with his elbows on her floor.
"Narusegawa, you're back!" he happily exclaimed. "When did you get here?"
In the other half of her room, Naru sat at her own desk, studiously scribing away at a piece of paper. Gone were her idol clothes, back in her far more comfortable yellow shirt, red skirt, and comfortable leggings, with her glasses fixed on her face to help her see her study materials. She turned in Keitaro's direction and gave him an amused, teasing smile. "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to actually use the door once in a while."
He blushed a little, but knew that she wasn't actually admonishing him. And he couldn't bring himself to admit that in his eagerness to see her again, any path other than the shortest route hadn't even crossed his mind. "Ah, you're right…" he murmured, then shook his head. "So, what are you up to? Studying?"
With a firm nod, she set her pencil down on the table and reached up to pull off her glasses, folding them up before setting them down on the table. "I haven't had any time lately to get any real studying done with how busy I've been."
"Yeah, that makes sense," he said, inwardly pleased to see that she was still dedicated to her studies, and not just paying lip service to it as part of her idol persona.
"Say, Keitaro…" she trailed off, fidgeting nervously with her hands for a moment, seeming to be looking for some source of strength. But soon, a beautiful smile blossomed on her face. "Let's get into Tokyo University together for sure next year, okay?"
Those words unshackled a weight on his soul that he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying. A feeling like a warm, gentle spring rain washed over him, and he pushed up against the floor, beginning to pull himself up the rest of the way into her room so he could join her for some late-night studying. "That's a promise, Narusegawa!" he proclaimed. "I'll work even harder than usual!"
Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that one of the jagged wooden plank edges had caught his pajama bottoms, so caught up was he in the moment. As a result, by the time he climbed up into the room, his pants had pooled around his ankles.
Naru, on the other hand, quickly realized what was happening, but was too far away to stop him. By the time she'd extricated herself from underneath her desk, it was already too late. Forcing herself to keep her eyes focused up, her face red from an equal mix of embarrassment and anger, she strode forward and clenched her right hand into a fist. "Just what are you trying to show off!?"
Her strike lifted him off the ground, bouncing from the ceiling before tumbling down back through the hole. There was no sound of a great crashing of furniture, just the sound of a body hitting the floor.
June 3
Hinata Apartments
0645 hours, local time
The next morning found Keitaro fast asleep on the floor of his room, with Shinobu—already dressed to go to school—crouching over his unconscious body. She glanced nervously at the clock on the wall, then very gently reached forward to shake his shoulder. "Senpai, please wake up," she called out, louder than she would normally speak, in the interest of trying to wake him up. "Don't you have prep school today, senpai?"
Her efforts proved successful, as Keitaro suddenly drew in a deep breath and stretched out his limbs. Then he opened his eyes without otherwise getting up or even moving. "Where's Narusegawa?" he asked, speech still slurred from drowsiness. "She came home, didn't she?"
The younger girl bit her lip; it was clear that he still hadn't come to terms with things yet. "senpai…" she sadly murmured.
His thought processes coming more online, he pushed himself up on his hands and turned his attention to her. "Shinobu-chan! Sorry, did I say something weird?"
"Don't you have prep school today?" she repeated, trying to get him focused, get him up and about so he'd be able to think about something other than their mutual friend.
Unfortunately, Keitaro always had something of a one track mind. He moved into a cross-legged position. "Yeah, I do," he answered. "Did Narusegawa leave already?"
She tilted her head curiously, unsure of what he meant by that question. "But… I thought Narusegawa-senpai was still staying at the hotel?"
Shaking his head once, he sheepishly reached up to rub the back of his head as he began to explain, "Well, you see… the thing is that last night—"
It was then that he realized that his other hand, settled on his leg, could feel the fabric of his pajamas. He stopped in mid-word, looking down to see that his pants were back in their proper place. He certainly didn't remember waking up between when Naru had knocked him out and the present in order to pull them back in place, nor did he think it likely that someone had come by and corrected them without waking him up. The only one who probably would have done so would be Seno, but he knew his friend would've deliberately woken him up in the process to give him crap about it.
So then, he reasoned, the likelihood was high that he'd just dreamed about Naru having come home late at night. And the more he thought about it, the more it didn't make sense for her to come all the way back to the apartments to study when she could have done so just as easily from the hotel. It never occurred to him that she could have done so to get a break from being surrounded by the pressure of her idol career, but that is neither here nor there.
"Maybe I was just dreaming…"
Hinata Tea House
0926 hours, local time
"Of course you were dreamin'," Kitsune drawled, leaning back on her hands. The cafe was otherwise empty, so she wasn't concerned about getting in anyone else's personal space. "What would the country's top idol want to do coming back to a boring old dump like this?"
Across from her, Haruka gave her a side-eye at being so disparaging about the apartments, but chose not to comment. It was clear that Naru's absence was affecting her best friend just as badly as it was affecting Keitaro. The trickster's increased day-drinking was proof enough of that.
In between them, seated hunched over on the raised platform with his back to them, Keitaro stared morosely at the floor. "I just don't think Narusegawa has the right personality to be an idol," he mumbled. "It's not like her to go around smiling on cue and acting like she doesn't have a brain. It's not her style."
"Are you sure you're not just projecting your own expectations on her?" Haruka asked, softly but not sugar-coating it. Her nephew's obsession was not at all healthy. "Words that you're using to soothe your own heart?"
Those words tightened a vice around his heart. He knew they were far more accurate than he wanted them to be, but he wasn't quite ready to admit that to himself yet. Instead, he shot to his feet and stared out into the trees beyond the cafe, hands clenched tight into fists. "I just thought her driving goal was to get into Tokyo University…"
Letting out a heavy sigh, Kitsune shifted her weight and reached out to pick up her tea cup, draining it the rest of the way in one long pull. She wished that it was quality sake, but Haruka had put her foot down on refusing to allow her to drink in the cafe.
"Yeah, about that…" she muttered, setting the cup back down with a soft clink of ceramic. "It used to be, but even I'm not so sure anymore."
Curiosity piqued, Keitaro looked back over his shoulder at her. "Why? What do you mean?"
The blonde let her head tip to one side, a look of contemplation on her face. Haruka peered over at her curiously, but after a moment, Kitsune sighed and muttered a curse under her breath. "It's really not my business tellin' you this… but Naru used to have a huge crush on her tutor when she was in high school."
"He wasn't that much of a man," Haruka said, almost to herself, then picked up her tea cup and sipped from it.
"Eh, he wasn't that bad," Kitsune countered, then looked back to Keitaro. "Anyway, he went to Todai, so he sort of influenced her into wanting to go there, too."
As if the vice grip on his heart wasn't bad enough, now Keitaro felt as though someone had punched a hole clean through his chest. He vividly recalled Naru's words the previous winter, telling him of a promise she had made long ago to be accepted into Tokyo University with someone. Had this tutor that Kitsune was telling him about been that person all along?
"None of us have heard so much as a peep out of him since he stopped tutoring her, though," Haruka pointed out.
"Exactly!" Kitsune exclaimed, leaning forward onto the table and thumping it with her fist. "So I figure that Naru's feelings done gone cold 'cos of him ditching her, so now she's got no more reason to try to get into Todai anymore."
Third Floor Bath Room
1215 hours, local time
With the conversation growing ever heavier on his heart, Keitaro had excused himself under the pretext of taking a bath. Perhaps a nice hot soak might help clear his head and soothe his heart. And so, a short time later, he sat in his soaking tub, with Tama resting on a small shelf and watching him with what seemed to be rapt attention.
"If all that's true, maybe she has new goals for herself now," he mused. "Maybe she really doesn't care about Todai anymore…"
Growing ever more depressed the more his thoughts wandered, he lowered himself further into the water, laying his head back and resting it against the rim of the tub with a heavy sigh. Almost as though the turtle could sympathize with him, Tama responded with a light chirp.
Suddenly, the door handle rattled, and Keitaro lifted his head, expecting to alert Seno that the bath was already occupied. To his utter shock, the door slamming open heralded none other than Naru barging in. Tama likewise glanced backwards, spooked by the sight of her sprinting towards the bath.
Without even bothering to close the door, Naru jumped up into the air and splashed down into the bath, sending a spray of water shooting out over the room. She didn't come back up out of the water, curling herself into as small a shape as possible.
"N-Narusegawa, what are you—" Keitaro began, only to be silenced as Naru's hand reached out of the water, grabbed hold of Tama, and shoved the poor turtle ass-first into Keitaro's mouth.
Then she pressed herself against the back of the tub, using the overhanging shelf to hide herself from sight, and went completely still, only the occasional air bubble rising to the surface indicating her presence.
He didn't have to wonder what was going on for very long, as only moments later, Kentaro poked his head around the corner of the door and swept his gaze over the bath room. Only then did he let his gaze center on Keitaro. "Hey, have you seen Naru-chan?"
Too busy trying to play it cool and not give Naru away, Keitaro didn't have the chance to bristle at the overly-familiar honorific, simply shaking his head vigorously and trying to give an answer. Tama being wedged into his mouth made it impossible for his words to be understood, though.
Kentaro's gaze tracked down to the turtle for a moment, then back up to Keitaro's eyes. "Dining on live turtle while taking a bath, hm?" he murmured to himself. "How very chic." Without bothering to wait for a response, he stepped away from the door frame and started down the hall, his voice trailing off from distance: "Naru-chan, where are you?"
A few moments passed, then Naru finally breached the surface of the bath, sucking in a deep, gasping breath of air. "God, I thought he'd never leave…" she grumbled to herself, then focused her attention on Keitaro. She calmly reached forward and pulled Tama from his mouth. "Spit her out, already."
Setting the turtle on the shelf behind her, she quickly climbed out of the tub and stood dripping beside it, attempting to wring out her hair and clothes. She was going to need a bath at this rate.
"What's the big idea?" he demanded. "You show up out of nowhere, jump into my bath, then shove Tama halfway—"
His words cut off suddenly as his brain caught up with what he was seeing. Naru had been wearing a business casual outfit consisting of a light green button-down shirt and blue skirt. As a consequence of her sudden underwater excursion soaking her clothes entirely through, her top was entirely transparent. Fortunately for her modesty, she had on a dark-colored camisole underneath her shirt, but that wasn't the point.
Grumbling in irritation, she stalked back over to the tub and plunged his head underwater. "You are such a pervert!"
Hinata Tea House, Backroom
1239 hours, local time
"So you've run away and came back here to lay low?" Haruka asked.
Naru had changed out of her waterlogged clothes and dried herself off, now wearing a pair of blue jeans, a plain green shirt under a light windbreaker, and a baseball cap to help hide her face, with her long hair pulled up underneath the cap. "Yes…" the idol answered glumly, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry to cause trouble."
Haruka gave a noncommittal hum, but from her that was tantamount to a statement of total absolution. "What is it that made you go on the run?" she asked instead.
"Is it because the workload got too hard?" Keitaro added. Before even giving Naru a moment to answer, a thought suddenly occurred to him and he growled out, "Or did that sleaze Kentaro sexually harass you? Or did they take you to some sketchy hotel where some old fat bastard like a politician was waiting for you and he said things like 'Do as I say and nothing bad will happen' and then 'Ooh, you look just like you do on TV' and then he tried to grab you so you belted him with an ashtray and now you're on the run from the yakuza!?"
Almost as impressive as that unhinged string of consciousness was the manner in which he pantomimed the entire sequence of events.
Despite the craziness of it, Naru cracked a smile and a brief laugh at his antics. "No, nothing that wild," she answered. "I'm just worn out, is all."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
With a groan, she reached up and rubbed her hands over her face, smothering a yawn as she did so. "I mean that they've got me running around all day long with, at best, two hours of sleep each night! And I've only gotten to eat bentos that I have to wolf down in five minutes! And when I looked at my schedule for tomorrow, there were forty-eight hours worth of appearances crammed into a single day!" She slapped the back of her hand into her other palm to emphasize the insanity of that timetable.
"Holy crap…" Keitaro murmured.
Haruka said nothing, knowing that venting about this would do Naru some good. The older woman understood well the costs of being a main attraction in the entertainment industry. And the idol industry was arguably even worse than that.
"And wherever I go, I get recognized by people and mobbed by everyone wanting selfies with me. I just felt like I needed some time off." Her rant having run its course, she paused to take a deep breath, then gave a sly smile to both Haruka and Keitaro. "Besides, I'm having a little fun driving Kentaro nuts."
Though the thought of putting the screws to his romantic rival certainly was an upside in Keitaro's mind, he was a little crestfallen that those were her only reasons for what she was doing. To be fair, they were perfectly valid reasons, yet he had hoped a little that she had missed the Hinata. Had missed him.
"Oh, I see…" he murmured, without really having meant to speak up at all.
Naru tilted her head to the side. "Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all!" he swiftly denied, though inwardly he thought, Kitsune-san was right. She really doesn't care about Todai anymore…
Hinata Apartments, Foyer
The Same Time
"We've heard that Narusegawa-san has run away! Is this true?"
There existed a saying that nothing in the known universe moved as fast as rumors in the press, and the throng of reporters that had caught Kentaro before he could leave the Hinata was proving the truth to that statement.
"Is there a financial problem or is there another woman involved?"
"No, no, please calm down," he said, trying to get ahead of the volleys of pointed questions.
Amidst all the noise of the impromptu interview session, Shinobu, Kaolla, and Motoko wandered in from a side hallway. They came to a stop near one of the couches—a couch on which Seno was laying, flattening himself as much as possible to remain out of view of the cameras and reporters. "What's with all the racket?" Kaolla asked, hanging off Shinobu's shoulders.
"Has something happened?" Shinobu added on.
"What are all you people doing in our foyer?" Motoko demanded, somehow managing to maintain a neutral tone.
Quickly glancing over his shoulder in their direction, Kentaro shot off a quick, "I'm sorry, they were just leaving!" before turning back to try and shoo the reporters away. A few moments later, however, he spun back around to take a longer look at Shinobu and Motoko. "Ah! You two girls are adorable!"
Kaolla had wandered over to sit on the back of the couch that Seno occupied, and the swordsman levered himself on an elbow to watch, a scowl swiftly forming on his face.
Kitsune took the opportunity to make an appearance, stepping in between the other two girls with a devious expression on her face. "Yes, can I help you?" At the sound of stunned confusion from Kentaro, she continued, "I'm Konno Mitsune, their manager. Pleased to meetcha."
"Are they a new idol group?" one of the reporters asked.
Ushered forward to stand with Kentaro by Kitsune, the self-proclaimed idol manager stepped in between them and put a hand on either of their shoulders. Naturally, Shinobu looked quite embarrassed by all the attention, while Motoko seemed unamused.
"It just so happens that Narusegawa Naru is busy working on her latest song, and then she'll be taking a bit of a break," Kentaro explained, making up the story as he went along as easily as he breathed. "So in the meantime, I'm pleased to announce the formation of a new idol group, the junior and senior high school duo, 'Sword and Flower'!"
"Flower?" Shinobu repeated.
"Sword?" Motoko lifted Shisui from where she had been holding it by her side, equally a literal response to her half of this group name as it was a threat.
While the attention was on those three, the other three in the room were not idle. Kaolla scampered out of the foyer through the hall, going for a side exit to head to the tea house. Seno drew Kitsune's attention with a brief hissing sound, then tersely beckoned her towards him. She casually strolled over to lean against the couch, crossing her arms under her chest and watching the impromptu press conference.
"The hell are you doing, Kitsune-san?" he demanded quietly. He glanced over toward the gathering at the front door, then turned away again with a scowl. It was already hard enough to resist the temptation to go for his sword; only the presence of the reporters and their cameras stopped him thus far.
She cracked an eye in his direction, an amused smirk crossing her lips. "Don't worry about those two, I'll watch out for 'em."
He squinted at her. "You're up to something shady, aren't you?"
All she did in response was let her grin stretch even wider. "My brother in gaming, I am always up to something shady."
Hinata Tea House, Backroom
Having changed into a set of military-style fatigues and collected Tama—the turtle resting happily atop her head—Kaolla eagerly reported to Naru and Keitaro, "Those two are acting as a decoy for you, so now's your chance to hightail it!"
"I hope Shinobu-chan and Motoko-chan will be okay…" Keitaro murmured.
Naru shared the sentiment, but she had faith in her friend. "They'll be fine," she assured her partner in crime. "Kitsune will take care of them. Let's go ahead and go, Keitaro."
With the idol girl in the lead, the two of them strode forward past Kaolla, leaving her to spin in their wake and snap off a hasty salute. Of course, she still couldn't help but wonder, "Hey, why's Keitaro running away, too?"
Still sitting with her legs crossed on a stool by the sink, Haruka only chuckled. This idol business was rubbish, but this impromptu plan of theirs stood a pretty fair chance of bringing those two dorks closer together in the long run.
Hinata City
With the duo of Shinobu and Motoko thrown to the proverbial wolves, Naru and Keitaro were able to successfully slip out of the old part of the city, across the Yukemori Bridge and into the downtown part of the city. While the girls endured photoshoots and the recording of an initial song, the Todai hopefuls headed to a movie theater at the behest of Naru, who reasoned—accurately—that a darkened movie theater would make for a good place to lay low. Though she initially teased Keitaro's choice of movie, One Piece: The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle, she wound up enjoying it well enough.
Their next destination was a food stall near the park. Largely full from the popcorn and movie snacks, Keitaro simply got a soda while Naru decided on an orange parfait. Feeling in a good mood and a touch playful, Naru turned a spoonful of her dessert in Keitaro's direction and said, "Say 'ah'!"
Naturally, this tripped a circuit breaker in his head, even as his entire face burned crimson as a stop light. But he was no fool, and promptly opened his mouth even as his heart soared at the very prospect of enjoying this particular activity that almost universally was a 'couple thing'.
But his cosmic plaything status came to call again: a child's voice nearby loudly called out, "Look, it's Naru-chan!"
Gasping in shock at being recognized, Naru's gaze darted over to see a young girl no older than four pointing at her, while her mother stopped to look as well. Several other passersby were likewise stopping to see if the child's call had been right. Sadly—for Keitaro—her shocked reaction had her accidentally drive her spoon right into his face, covering his nose in cold yogurt.
Tugging her hat lower to cover her face, Naru immediately stood up, murmuring under her breath, "Let's go, Keitaro," as she started walking away.
Rather than get up to follow her, he simply sat there in a daze, equal parts crestfallen at being interrupted and suffering from a contact brain freeze. "C-cold…" he muttered softly.
Groaning in annoyance, Naru stepped back and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him up out of the chair and dragging him along after her. Luckily, she thought, none of those people who had seen her had any cameras, so there'd be no tabloid pictures of the two of them out on what certainly looked like a date to contend with.
Hinata Aquarium
1822 hours, local time
It had been Keitaro's idea to duck into the aquarium. Naru hadn't been sure at first, but he cited their use of a darkened movie theater earlier in the day to convince her, informing her that the aquarium kept its lights dim in order to better see into the water tanks. She had agreed quickly after that, looking forward to seeing the aquatic displays.
"Say, why did you decide to come back to the Hinata?" Keitaro asked as they wandered past a riverine display featuring several otters and other freshwater fish. "Wouldn't it have been smarter to hide out at your folks' place?"
Naru, who until that point had been playing with one of the otters, moving her hands back and forth across the glass and watching it follow along underwater, looked down and stilled her hands. "Not really…" she mumbled. "Going back there isn't easy. I don't… really feel welcome there. Not with… the new family."
"Huh?" Keitaro blinked, bewildered. He had never known that Naru wasn't on good terms with her family. "What do you mean?"
Standing up from where she'd been crouched, she slowly made her way into the next area, a glass tunnel that allowed fish to swim on all sides of them. She glanced up at the shadow of a shark passing over her, then looked back over her shoulder at Keitaro. "Oh, I didn't tell you? Sorry about that, I…"
She shook her head, stepping over to the tunnel wall to lean against the handrail. "My mom remarried a few years ago," she explained. "So I got a new step-sister who's…" She paused, running some mental math. "She's in her first year of junior high at Mahora Academy. I think. We don't really get along…"
Keitaro lifted a hand, as though to give her a reassuring touch. He paused with his hand hovering halfway between them, unsure whether the contact would be welcome, but burning with every fiber of his being to provide her some form of comfort. He chose to refrain, lowering his hand back to his side. "So that's why you've been living on your own at the Hinata," he said softly.
Naru shrugged lightly, having not noticed his internal dilemma. "That's not the only reason, but it's a big part, for sure. It's just that sometimes it feels like her new family is more important to my mom than I am, and then that gets me wondering…" She reached up and pulled off her hat, letting her hair fall free to its natural length, then brushed her bangs out of her face and tilted her gaze up to the ceiling of the tunnel. "…if anyone really loves me."
Keitaro felt as though he'd been punched in the chest, his breath stolen away by the weight of emotion in Naru's voice. How adept was she at hiding her feelings, if all this time he had never noticed that crushing weight of self-doubt she carried on her shoulders? But there was one thing he was absolutely certain of: there was at least one fool out there who did, indeed, love her for who she was.
If only he could adequately communicate that.
"That's ridiculous," he told her, shaking his head adamantly. "Of course you're loved, Narusegawa."
"But if… you really love someone, why would you stop calling or writing…?" she asked softly, her voice almost inaudible. Realizing she'd vocalized that thought aloud, she cleared her throat and looked up at Keitaro, a sheepish look and a thin smile on her face that even he could see right through. "I mean, forget about that. I don't know what I'm talking about. Love's just weird, am I right?"
But he was like a dog with a bone now, refusing to give any ground on Naru's feelings of being unloved. "What are you saying, Narusegawa? How can you even think no one loves you? There are countless people who do! Like—" Me, he thought, but the word caught in his throat, his own doubts refusing to let him voice the one thing he wanted to say more than anything else in the world.
"Like…?" she breathlessly repeated, a hope and a warmth stirring in her chest.
"Like… all your fans! Don't they count for something?"
And just like that, the hope flickered and died. "Yeah… I suppose you're right," she answered, her voice unnaturally flat. "Maybe that's why I like being an idol so much… Even if it's a lie, that's the perfect love, isn't it?"
Leaning down to pick up her hat off the floor, she dusted it off on her jeans, then gathered her hair up again and pulled the hat down over it, putting her disguise back in place as a perfect metaphor for the walls in place around her heart.
I guess Narusegawa is intent on continuing her idol career, Keitaro glumly thought to himself, missing the point entirely.
Aquarium Cafe
1856 hours, local time
Despite the heavy conversation that they'd had, the mood normalized as they made their way through the rest of the aquarium, taking a break after in the attached cafe for a light snack and some drinks in the light of the setting sun. Keitaro, out of habit, had pulled out his collection of flash cards once he'd finished eating and swiftly fell into his own little world, trying to cram as much of the information into his brain as he possibly could.
Naru watched fondly for several long moments, a warm smile on her face. Despite all his other flaws, she could surely say that his greatest strength was his unmatched determination. No matter what life threw at him, no matter how many times he failed, he would always get back on his feet, his eyes fixed on his goals, and keep moving forward.
In such private, cozy times as these, she would fully admit to herself that she admired that trait of his, and tried to emulate it as best she could.
She held her hand out toward him, palm up. "Let me have those," she said. "I'll quiz you."
Realizing what he was doing, he quickly pulled them away and stuffed them into his pocket. "Sorry, force of habit. I didn't mean to get distracted by them."
She frowned, hurt by his outright refusal. When had it gotten to the point that he didn't want her help anymore? "What's the big deal?" she asked. "I'm still trying to pass my exams, too, so it'll help me just as much."
"Look, I'm trying so hard because I've got my promise to keep to get into Todai," he shot back. "But you, you're… the person you made the promise with isn't…" Me, he thought, the irony of repeating the same sequence of events as not too long ago completely lost on him. "No, forget it… Sorry I brought it up." He glanced quickly at his watch. "We should go. I'll take you back to your manager's office."
As he stood to walk away, Naru sat unmoving, staring at the table's surface. Had he just implied that all the time they had spent working hard together to make it into Tokyo University meant nothing to him now? Was this knot in her stomach what rejection felt like?
What is he trying to say? Does our promise not…mean anything to him anymore?
City Streets, Hinata City
1900 hours, local time
It had already gotten dark by the time Naru caught up to Keitaro on a pedestrian overpass. The fact that he made no effort to wait for her, even though he could hear her running up behind him, made it all the more obvious that he wasn't in his usual cheery mood. She grabbed his wrist and pulled back with all her weight, dragging him to a stop in the center of the bridge. That he didn't even turn to face her only amplified her dread.
"Wait, Keitaro!" she shouted above the noise of traffic passing below them. "What did you mean by all those things you said? You're acting strange, and it's got me worried."
He still refused to turn and face her, only turning his head enough to speak over his shoulder. "You're the number one idol in Japan, Narusegawa. You really shouldn't even be hanging around with average nobodies like me."
Those words drove a knife into her chest, a cold chill washing over her body despite the warmth of oncoming summer. Only the sharp pain of biting her lip held back the sob that threatened to escape her. "Then I'll quit!" she exclaimed, surprising even herself at how quickly she shot that response. But she didn't even think twice, knowing in her heart that she truly meant it. Struggling to keep her voice even, she continued, "I'll stop being an idol and come home. It—"
"No," he interrupted, a hard edge to his tone. "You can't just quit like that. It isn't the answer."
"But… why not…?" she asked, no longer able to keep her voice from wavering.
An updraft from a passing truck washed over the bridge, pulling the hat off her head and carrying it far away. Without it, she couldn't hide the tears welling in her eyes, but she had no desire to. If her tears were the only way that Keitaro could see how he was hurting her, then so be it.
Finally, finally, he turned to face her. But even still, he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye, staring down at the ground between them even as he proclaimed, "It's something you started, so you can't just give up on it. You have to see it through to the end!" He pressed a hand to his own chest. "I'm going to Todai because I promised someone that I would. And you should go on to become the strongest idol in the world for all your fans that love you, Narusegawa. You're better than running back to the Hinata to hide when things get tough. Just know that I'll be cheering you on the whole way."
Naru had, of course, heard of the phrase of someone's anger reaching a snapping point. At that moment, hearing a snapping sound that she couldn't be sure whether or not it was real, she understood why it was called that. She clenched her hands into fists, her body trembling as the rage boiled over. "Are you saying you don't want me to come back?" she demanded. She didn't give him a chance to answer, didn't give herself the time to let the grief rise up to overpower her anger. "Fine, then I won't! I hate you!"
Her voice broke at those words, a lie to protect her wounded heart that even she didn't want to admit was a lie. With every ounce of her pain, she reared back and punched him with all the force she could muster, sending him flying far off the other end of the bridge.
As soon as she'd hit him, she turned and ran the other direction, one hand pressed over her mouth to muffle the sobs she could no longer hold back, the tears she could no longer contain streaming through the air behind her.
Even though I hoped that one day that love could become true, she thought, barely able to see the ground ahead through her tears. Even still, the one I wanted to tell was you, and you alone.
She never noticed the paparazzi hiding in the bushes in front of the aquarium, the one who'd just caught the entire sequence of events on high-fidelity camera.
June 4
Outdoor Onsen, Hinata Apartments
0611 hours, local time
"…and that's how it went," Keitaro finished, telling the story of what had happened the previous night to Seno.
Having risen shortly after sunrise the way he normally did, the swordsman had headed to the roof to practice with Motoko as he usually did, only to remember upon finding the space empty that she was now off on an idol career as well. With nothing better to do, he'd decided to assist Keitaro in cleaning up the outdoor bath, where the conversation had soon turned to how his 'not-date' had gone.
And now that the tale had concluded, Seno felt as if a few years had been taken off his life.
Groaning in consternation, the swordsman tucked his broom against his shoulder and covered his face with both palms. "Keitaro," he began, voice muffled. "You're like a brother to me, and I love you man, but you are one stupid. Motherfucker."
Turning away from the rocks he was brushing algae off of, Keitaro fiddled with his own broom. "I know," he said. "I don't know what possessed me to say all that. I just overreacted, lashed out because I was upset."
The annoyance on Seno's face at having heard the tale evaporated in an instant, replaced with sympathy. "Yeah, I feel that," he said, turning back to sweeping leaves and twigs into a pile. "It's unfortunately pretty natural for people to react that way." Especially a couple of emotionally constipated idiots like you two, he thought, but kept that to himself. Instead, he grinned and asked, "Hey, you know how Jack Sparrow was always talking about the 'opportune moments' right?"
Keitaro nodded and gave a sad smile. "That was mine, wasn't it?"
"Sure was."
They lapsed into silence for several minutes, the only sounds being that of the breeze and their brooms against the rocks.
Then Seno suddenly jolted as if he'd been shocked, scowling and cursing, "Oh, son of a…"
Caught off-guard by the unexpected outburst, Keitaro nearly tripped and fell into the water nearby. "What? What's wrong?"
"It just hit me," his friend answered, shaking his head. "The last episode took place mostly on May fourth and I didn't make one single Star Wars reference the entire time." Glancing out of the page, he smirked and pointed a finger. "Y'all thought I was gonna break the fourth wall standard, didn't you?"
Keitaro likewise briefly glanced aside, before checking himself with a reminder not to look directly into the camera. "You held off the entire chapter and you're spending it on a complaint about the last chapter?" he asked, incredulous.
Seno dismissively waved his hand. "Look, I pretty much had guest star billing this go round, so I didn't have a lot to work with."
Feeling his mood lifted a bit by his friend's usual antics, Keitaro laughed and shook his head. "I guess that's true," he agreed. "At least you'll be back in focus next time?"
"Hey, spoilers, man," Seno said, making a shushing motion. "You can't just read ahead in the script like that."
"Speaking of scripts, I think y'all are spending too much time on the gimmick this time," Kitsune's voice called out.
Both men turned toward the exit back into the building, surprised to see not only Kitsune, but Shinobu, Kaolla, and Motoko as well, all four wrapped in towels and standing just outside the door. "Wh-what are you guys doing here?" Keitaro asked.
Shinobu, ever the shy one, partially stepped behind Kitsune as she answered, "Well, we decided to give up show business."
Reaching up to sheepishly rub the back of her head, Kitsune clarified, "Weeeelllll, I swiped some money from the cash box at the office and lost it all at the horse races. So they kicked us out."
Keitaro laughed nervously, while Seno just gave an eloquent stare, but both men deadpanned at the same time, "That's a felony."
The door slid open again, and to the surprise of them both, Naru walked out to join the group, likewise clad in a towel. The only word that could adequately describe her expression was free. As Seno crossed his arms with a smirk that clearly stated his readiness to watch what was about to happen, Keitaro asked in disbelief, "N-Narusegawa?" At her slight smile, he practically leapt for joy. "I'm so glad you're back!"
Kitsune interposed herself bodily between the two, passing over a newspaper for Keitaro to see. "Have y'all heard the news yet?"
"What news?" Keitaro asked, taking the paper and bringing it over for Seno to see as well. The front page was covered by several candid shots of Naru sending Keitaro flying the previous night. "'Exclusive! Belligerent Idol. Fists of Fury Explode in City After Hours. Industry Blacklisting Unavoidable?'" Lowering the newspaper, he looked at Naru and asked without thinking, "Looks like they finally saw your true colors, huh?"
Without batting an eye or losing her smile, Naru promptly snatched the newspaper from his hands, rolled it up, and swatted him across the face with it.
Rather than so much as lift a finger to intervene, Seno just shook his head. "You have got to get a speed bump between your brain and your mouth."
As that comment drew snickers and giggles from Kaolla, Shinobu, and Kitsune, Naru turned around and clasped her hands behind her back. "They just kept bossing me around, going on and on about 'behaving' and 'laying low' and 'apologizing'," she explained, the air quotes flying relentlessly from her fingers. I got so fed up with it, I just quit."
Motoko folded her arms across her chest and gave a sly smile. "Naturally, we quit as well as soon as we heard."
Answering that with the sort of broad grin he was known for, Seno spread his arms out to the side in a broad gesture. "Well, welcome back, ladies."
I should have known that she wouldn't have come back just for my sake, Keitaro thought glumly.
"And now that you two are up to speed, time for you both to get out of here," Naru said.
"That's right," Motoko agreed. "We all could do with a good soak. And Nakagami-san, don't think you'll be getting out of training today."
He gave a pair of finger guns in response as he started toward the door. "You know where to come find me," he told her.
As he passed, Kitsune clapped a hand on his shoulder and winked. "Told ya I had it under control," she whispered, getting a wink and a thumbs-up in return as he made his way inside.
Keitaro, as ever, was a bit slower on the uptake, prompting Naru to step behind him and forcibly push him toward the exit. "Alright, mister. Out!" she ordered.
She didn't relent until she'd pushed him back inside the building, finally coming to a stop just inside the changing area. Closing her eyes, she smiled to herself and let her hands rest on his back. "I decided to take your advice," she said softly, so that only he could hear her. "I'll finish what I started."
"What?" he asked, confused as to what she meant. Hadn't she just said she'd quit her idol career?
"About Todai, I mean," she clarified. "After all, we promised each other that we'd get in together."
She left it at that, heading back outside to join the other girls in the hot spring. Keitaro, meanwhile, flashed back to that chance late night meeting with Naru, where she had reaffirmed their promise together. He had convinced himself that he had only been dreaming, but for her to bring it up now…
"Was that… real…?"
A/N: So, this was an experience. I've always had a love/hate relationship with including song lyrics as an actual part of a chapter, so I knew this would be an endeavor. Went into it expecting it to be my least favorite chapter but it grew on me as I wrote it. Shout out to Oshi no Ko and its banger OP on repeat to push me through this one. I found several places I was able to adapt some lyrics to Naru's situation, so that was fun. Let this chapter be a reminder that the showbiz industry in general and the idol industry in particular are cancer.
Also, I have a beta reader now. So more oops's should be caught, and the general quality should improve.
