DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN AIKATSU NOR THE SONGS USED

*Blaze by Kinya Kotani

Momo's POV

I sat by my new desk, studying the recent auditions. Each idol that passed the audition had their own babyish presence. A small wow factor that showed off who they were creating a wide diversity of personalities. I continued to watch each audition piece, both interview and performance, making note of each person. Some even got fans just from their auditions. Those were the people that I paid extra attention to. Going in alphabetical order I finally reached Shouta.

He tripped over his own feet when entering the interview room. Giving a breath of relief he caught himself before falling any further by grabbing hold of the chair. Off screen one teacher cleared their throat catching Shouta off guard. He remembered his situation that he bowed to the judges. "I-I-I'm Higawara Sh-oo- no wait- Higawari S-Shouta. 14 years old, type AB positive, 159 cm tall, my favorite colour is green-"

"Higawari-kun. Please take a deep breath." Aunty Aoi advised for him. "It's understandable on why you could be nervous but rest assured that this is only a very simple interview."

He shakily gave a nod taking his seat. He twiddled with his fingers looking down at his lap. "So Higawari-kun, why do you want to be an idol?"

"Um-I choose to become an idol because I- well- we- um- me and Momo-san- agreed that we should- would try to achieve our dreams- separate dreams- together. Oh but there's also music! Music is important to me. My brother- older brother- made me interested in music to help me express myself. Momo-san was the one to show me the idol world. So she was the push I needed to get me into idols. We've been training hard these 42 days- so basically around a month-a little more- with the current goal to be idols. So I guess I want to be an idol because- I wanted to? No- a better answer would be because I felt the urge when Momo-san first brought it to me."

"Momo. As in Suzukawa Momo?" A few papers rustled in the background. "It says here that Suzukawa Momo is the daughter of the Star couple and is auditioning to be an idol today as well. It's really brave of you to praise your competition so early in your possible career."

"Competition? I think you have something misunderstood here. Momo-san can be a bit serious at times but that's only because she's focused on her goal. I don't view her as competition in a bad way. I look to her for support and as a force to help me advance myself. Also please do not call her the Star couple's daughter. When she comes for her audition she is sure to show you that she's more than that title."

My pen stopped at his statement. For the first time in the interview Shouta sounded confident. And it was over me. No wonder why the teachers were shocked by my answers about Shouta. Our answers were in sync that it sounded rehearsed. The only reason to explain why it wasn't was because of the fact that interview questions were different for everyone and the way we spoke. I gave a small chuckle at the look on his face. Twitching lips yet unwavering eyes. The teachers whispered among each other not being picked up by the recording.

I glanced over to the hundreds of comments being left. 'Cute *heart eyes*! How admiral to stand up for his friend like that. Shou-chan! I'm defiantly supporting him. Hey, guys check out this audition for the girl he was talking about! He's soooooo shy like a baby but so passionate about his friends! Such a pure child! HIGAWARI SHOUTA FOR STARLIGHT KING!' Comments flooding in as his interview continued. They got even more intense as the clip of his performance came on. Some people even said that they were already his fans and were waiting for more performances. I put a star next to Shouta's name in my notebook.

I heard the door open behind me. Stopping the next audition tape, I swiveled around to the new person in the room. She dressed in a red Starlight tracksuit with a towel wrapped around her neck. From the looks of it she went on a jog with her amber- caramel mixed long hair braided back. She looked at me somewhat surprised with her purple eyes widening.

"Hi there! Sorry I guess this isn't the best meeting impression with me being this sweaty. I wasn't expecting to run for so long. This academy was just so big that I couldn't resist taking a few laps. Oh but I should have expected you to be here. It's late in the night too. Still kind of getting use to this whole ordeal. Can't believe I actually got into THE Starlight Academy. My siblings really doubted me but boy did I prove them wrong. After my performance they were all silenced at me. My gosh! Where are my manners?" She wiped some sweat off her forehead.

"I'm Watanabe Fumiko, your new roommate. Almost everyone calls me Fumi or Miko or Umi, anything is okay with me. I've been call Makimoto before by some kids. Apparently it's from some TV show but I didn't mind much. They were so much fun to play with when they were younger. Man, do I feel old. But look at me just rambling on and on and on." She moved over to the left side bed with her stuff untouched from earlier. "I hope you don't mind that I took this bed. My siblings always choose before me so I really wanted first choice this time. First time by myself, how exciting. Not that you're not here, I meant family wise."

"It didn't really matter to me. I'm Suzukawa Momo, you can call me as you please. I hope we get along, Watanabe-san." If I had to describe Watanabe with one word it would not work. She seemed to have this tendency to run on without realizing. Her interview session was the longest of all of them consisting mostly of her nonstop talking. Filled with that amount of energy made me wonder how she felt at the end of the day.

"I hope that we can get along as well Momo. We're going to be the best-est of friends that are bound for life. I can assure that fact."

I raised my eyebrow at her ignoring honorifics and poor form of grammar. "I'm not sure. I transferred here to become top. Not so much to make friends." Though I found fun in training with Shouta that was only with him.

"Ehh! No fun!" She shook her head. "We're both idols AND roommates. We can't just end our relationship like this. We need to have fun adventures, concerts, auditions. Things to bond us for life. Imagine it. In a few years when I get a lovely fiancée and decide to marry him. I would need a maid of honor. Yeah I can ask one of my sisters but where's the fun in that? I guess it would be a bit more fun if I asked my one of my big brothers. I rather ask my future best friend though. You're candidate number 4. That can be changed though."

"Understand that I would not hold a grudge on you if my ranking lowers." I turned back to my desk connecting my headphones to my new Aikatsu phone. Watanabe fumbled a bit before dejectedly unpacking her bag. I continued watching each audition while Watanabe did whatever she wanted.

I sat in my chair in the classroom, aimlessly reading the recent news. I heard some people mumble around the room as the sliding door opened. The door slid close quietly along with the hushing of the other students. Someone plopped in the seat next to me druggy placing his bag on the desk. I flinched when I looked at the back of the boy's head when he face-palmed the desk giving out a low groan. It took me a second to recognize the body.

"Shouta-kun? What happen to you? You look terrible."

He moved his head facing me. "My roommate talked all night on the phone to multiple people. One second I would think he was done then he would receive another call. I got barely any sleep."

"I can tell that much." I awkwardly patted down the strands of bed hair down. 'And I thought Watanabe-san was verbose. At least she let me sleep.'

"Don't mind me much. You don't seem very pleased today either. How was your roommate?" He stifled a yawn.

I tilted my head in her direction. "See the girl in the middle? That's her. Watanabe Fumiko."

He followed my gaze to the group of girls in the left corner of the room. Watanabe sat on her desk being surrounded by the greater female population of the class. She unconsciously twirled with her one strained braid from her slightly curled ends, waist length hair. "What's your impression on her?"

"Unmitigated sprightly and palaverous."

"X." He said not having the energy to raise his arms to give me his signal.

"Energetic to say the least. It's a good trait to have as an idol and person in general but she's not what I expected. I would have preferred if my roommate was... calmer." I watched as Watanabe exchanged emails with our new classmates. We were only here for a few minutes how can she already be friends with them? She caught me looking and gave me a big wave. I gave a small one back at her before she resumed conversing with them.

The door slid open one last time as dad walked in wearing his usual suit and weak prescription glasses. "Yes, yes. Please settle down. Class is about to start."

Everyone said a few words to their classmates as they took their seats. Dad placed a small binder onto the podium clearing his throat. "I am Suzukawa Naoto, your homeroom teacher for the year." I only caught several words of people whispering on how popular dad was. "I may be your teacher but I hope that we can establish a relationship where all of you feel comfortable enough to ask me for any help." A few girls swooned at him causing me to feel a little disgusted. I did not want to hear girls fawn over my dad.

"Let's begin with introductions starting with this corner." He gestured to Watanabe and her seatmate. The looked at each other for a second. Her partner seemed to be a somewhat timid at going first that Watanabe stood up taking her place. 'Considerate.'

When she finished her lengthy introduction she gave her seatmate a pat on the shoulder in comfort. Watanabe smiled cheerfully at her giving her the courage to stand for her intro. I hummed in thought that she could change from Watanabe's effortless actions.

Classes had ended without a hitch. For the most part first year students were just asked to introduce themselves over and over again to the teachers of multiple classes. It was almost pointless since I knew that the teachers were aware of who everyone was beforehand. These exercises were just for us, new, students to integrate into our surroundings. It would be a while before any official auditions and Aikatsu were to happen.

Shouta and I went to the library afterwards. Well, it was more like I went to the library while he caught up on some well needed sleep in the same booth as I. I glanced through my 2 towers of books at Shouta huddling in the corner with his Starlight blazer draped on the top half of his body. This was the reason why we got along so well. He didn't have to come with me. He could have went back to his dorm. Rather, he decided to accompany me because he didn't want to leave me alone. He even sat in silence beforehand instead of trying to make useless conversations while I studied. It was a mutual understanding.

I shook him awake when I noticed the time. It was almost time for the cafeteria to close for the night. He was still a little groggy but at least it was better than no sleep at all. I had him find a table for us and my few books while I fetched us some food.

I handled the two trays with food, a cup of water and a small cake for the both of us, over to our table. I found from the distance that Shouta was talking to another boy with platinum blonde, somewhat, spiky hair and sliver eyes. "To make it up to you here are two tickets to my debut in a week."

The boy handed Shouta two slips of paper. He shook his head in refusal. "D-debut?! In a week?! B-but isn't that too soon?"

"Not really. That's why I was talking on the phone so much. In preparation. Besides I can't keep my fans waiting for too long. I'll also be announcing which brand I decided to be the muse for. I can't put that off any further. Oh, but that's still a secret so I can't say which one yet."

"City lights I presume." I said as I placed our trays down. The boy looked shocked as I took my seat.

"How did you know that? No one but my manager and the top designer knows that."

"It wasn't hard to figure out. City Lights is one of the newly founded brands dedicated to unisex clothing. While there are others like Dreamy Crown that are adapting, there is still a lacking in the male department. The image of the brand was the best fitting for someone of your profession anyways. When news came on that you were still deciding it did not take me long to figure it out."

"So does that mean that I spot a fan of mine in you, Suzukawa Momo-chan? I'm honored." He kneeled in front of me taking my hand into his. I quickly retracted it.

"No, you found someone that is thorough with her research, Snapshot." I placed my hand on top of my three borrowed large textbooks. He stood up and ran his hand through his hair.

"Well I hope that my performance on Saturday will change your opinion on me. Since I already have a great impression on you, Momo-chan, Dobu-kun. You two most definitely caught my attention already." He gave me a wink placing the earlier tickets on the table. He retreated a few tables down to be surrounded by male and females alike. He gave the boys high fives and cheers while giving the girls a blowing kiss.

I mixed my curry and rice a little while eyeing the tickets. "To: Momo-chan and... Dobu-kun?" I read the little note stuck on top.

"Dobu is what he calls me. He says I remind him of a small animal (Dobutsu: どぶつ)." He gave out a sigh. "He came here to apologize for keeping me up all night. I wouldn't have imagined that he would be debuting so earlier."

"You don't know who he is, do you?"

"Should I?" He took out a bite out of his food. "He seems to be more knowledgeable about us for one thing. He did look a bit familiar though. Did we meet him at the audition?"

"It makes sense that you don't recognize him since he's still a beginner idol like us. Allow me to explain then. On top of being your roommate, he is probably the biggest competition you have here."

I brought out my notebook of the idols I watched last night. The binder notebook had tiny tabs sticking out the side. It was arranged into the sections of first, second and third years then further divided into the four types of idols, cute, pop, cool and sexy in different colours then finally as female and male, in order of those ranked of those that stood out the most. I turned to the first year- sexy- male idol section. The leading page of this part was dedicated to Shouta's roommate. I rotated the book towards Shouta letting him see all notes I made.

"Césaire Hayate, more commonly known as Snapshot. Of French father and Japanese mother background, he originally came to Japan at the age of five. Being a mixed culture, he instantly caught the eyes of many agents. He became a model at the age of six and was widely popular due to not only his face but his attitude. From his young age he was managed to capture many hearts based solely on how he acts. Although boy idols are still new, Snapshot is one of the few to already have a name to his face regardless of being a first year. Only one other first year Starlight male idol stands next to him in my personal ranking."

He turned the page looking at some clippings of magazines I glued in. "I didn't think he was that popular already. I mean I knew there was a charismatic factor about him but this is beyond what I imagined. Wait. So who else made a name for themselves? Are there a bunch of others that I'm not aware of?"

"Well the only other person that matches Snapshot is you." Shouta choked on his rice nearly dropping his spoon in the process. I handed him his cup of water which he chugged down as fast as he could.

"M-me?! No way! You even have it in your notes!" He lifted the book at me gesturing to all of Snapshot's facts especially at the rookie awards he won. "Me against Céasire-san? He's even debuting in almost a week."

I flipped my book to the cute idols section. "Higawari Shouta is the first male idol to show an idol aura out of all auditionees. Plays guitar and is able to compose his own original songs. Charm point would be his innocence. Has been gaining fans after his bold interview and proving loyalty to those close to him. Shouta-kun is slowly increasing in popularity as the views of his audition is the highest one so far and continuing to rise."

Shouta's face blew up in red looking away from me. I gave out a small laugh continuing to eat. With my other hand I grabbed the tickets off the table. "So how about it? Do you want view your competition in action?"

"Amazing. He really brought in a big crowd for his debut." Shouta's eyes kept wandering around the venue looking at the number of people attending. Reporters stuck to the front sideline with his fans huddle near center stage. They held onto copies of his magazine covers squealing to themselves.

The lights soon dimmed leaving the stage bathed in yellow light. The audience hushed themselves until the guest of honor walked on stage. Cheers and camera flashes erupted all together making me jump. He seemed to give a little smile glimmering with pride not even flinching at the sudden noises. Snapshot placed one hand on his chest and bowed. "Bonjour à tous. Hello everyone. I'm sure you already know who I am by coming here but just to make sure you're in the right place, my name is Céasire Hayate. I am currently a first year student at Starlight Academy."

'Mixing in French and Japanese was a nice touch. He even included a little bit of humor to lighten the mood.' "I guess I shouldn't prolong this any further than needed."

This caused the girls to scream out praises. Most of them saying something along the lines of them being okay if he did nothing but babble. He laughed quietly somewhat covering his mouth using the back of his hand. "Merci. Then how about this? I have some very big news. Would you like to hear it?"

He placed his hand up to his ear listening to the positive cheers. He gave approving nods at them. "Well if you insist." We watched as he moved over to the side of the stage. With a snap of his fingers he switched the backdrop to display City Lights's brand logo. A black background having the letters written in white capitalized block letters. On the bottom of each letter was the outline of multiple skyscrapers in black, sliver and gray. The whole logo was filled by small neon yellow circles floating in and around the writing. The biggest eye catcher were the two orange silhouettes of both sides of what looked like one boy and one girl leaning their backs against the words.

"I have decided to be a muse for is sexy clothes brand, City Lights." More cameras flashed.

The logo shrank in size before moving into the corner of the screen. A new slide show was being played of different outfits on silhouettes of both boys and girls. "As you can see City Lights is a brand that brings to life the idea of travelling through the night that people sleep through. The same night that is not dead quiet but filled with the laughter of those willing to adventure out into the beautiful unknown."

Most outfits consisted of a dark colored palette with brightly colored accents. It was true to its motif of having more nightclub look with the comfort of being able to hang out with friends at a late night restaurant. The slide show stopped on the final outfit expanding the size of the image.

Little point boxes appeared next to the outfit. The top card consisted of a fitting, elbow length crimson shirt with gray folded cuffs on the ends of the arms buttoned down. On top was open loose black vest with a yellow neckerchief tied under the shirt's folded collar. The most unique part, though somewhat covered by the vest, the shirt had noticeable sliver intricate line designs on the bottom hem. Finally the card included a pair of maroon leather gloves with a small square on the back hand cut out. Next was the bottom card. Black ripped jeans with a grayish tint that stopped a little above his ankles. Resting off the pockets were metal chains with the four card suits charms hanging off. The shoes card was simplest being dark brown pointed shoes with slight heel. Lastly was the accessories card. A black flat fedora with a white bottom rim resembling a belt.

Snapshot held up the four cards. "I decided to keep today simple. Introducing the All Night, Night Out Coord. Cards are an idol's life. Today is my not only my debut but for these cards as well. Together we're going to put on a great show. Yet, before I begin there is someone that everyone should meet. Rika-chan?" A woman with her brown hair tied back in a tight bun wearing a business suit stepped onto stage. He took her hand taking her center stage filling the place in gasps. He raised her hand giving a kiss on the back. Snapshot finally slipped the mic into her hand before winking at the audience. He stepped off stage leaving the girl alone.

She cleared her throat. "If I can clear the air, my name is Rika. I'm Hayate-kun's manager. He has a tendency to play around with people so do not mind him." There was a mixture of laugh and sighs of reliefs. I saw what they were doing though. Rika was a subtle way to introduce his personality. This way the new fans in the audience can be included in knowing who he was. They would also push out the type of image that he has.

"Hayate-kun has always been like that. He was the one that had the final say in what he did. Photo shoots, outfits, what to eat for lunch. I guess that's what happens when you're in the business for 8 years. I wish he become more mature. I wouldn't say that he's not a good person though. He can be incredibly stubborn so please do not mind him too much."

"I think you're exaggerating too much. It makes me look bad." Snapshot stepped out of the side wings in the All Night, Night Out Coord nicely fitting him. He removed the hat placing it on his chest airing out his blonde hair. "Some people find me adoring."

'I see. Along with giving out information about him naturally, they also gave him time to change out of uniform. This way he can properly represent his brand. Judging by his manager's mien it seems like he planned most of it, I highly doubt that she's this colloquial on a regular basis. Céasire Hayate. Let's see if your performance can live up to that.' Snapshot exchanged a few words with Rika showing off that they were close. From an outside perspective it looked like the two of them were like mother and son. "I think we should start the performance before my fans get bored. Don't you think, Rika-chan?"

"Let's leave that up to them. Audience what do you think?" Rika asked. The audience erupted in cheers making the two of them smile. "Well Hayate-kun you heard them. Give them the show they've been waiting for."

She left the stage giving a pat on his shoulder. Once fully off, the setting shifted to the Belt- Chained Dome stage. Snapshot gave a charming smile at the crowd as he turned his back.

Hatenaki yume motomeru shirube naki sekai de... He turned around placing on his hat.

Kasanaru omoi kokoro tsukisasu kodou

Shizuka ni tsuzuku tamerai mo nai uta

Tooku sora no kanata kara mazariatta bokura no kage He held his hand above his eyes shielding it from the lights above

Hitsuzen to kimagure no naka shirusareta kioku

Surechigatta toki no uzu

Kuchihatetemo kimi no koe wo shinjite He placed his hands on the side of his head spinning it forward, clockwise along with his body.

Hatenaki yume motomeru shirube naki mirai de

Boku ga hikari nakushitemo itsuka

Kimi ga tomoshite kureta kirameku mune no honoo

Tsubasa ni kawaru kibou no kakera

Snapshot, Shouta and I rode in the van together with Rika driving us back to Starlight Academy. The concert ended in success without any particular problems. "Good work today, Hayate-kun. I checked the Aikatsu ranking a little earlier. You already raised nine places up. An impressive feat for your debut. It's only going to get busier from now on. I'm expecting great things."

"Thank you. You can count on me, Rika-chan." He ran his hand through his hair. "So how was I you two?"

I pondered a little on if I should tell him. "It was apparent that you are a neophyte. For a new idol it makes sense but for someone of your caliber and savoir- faire, I expected extra. You have the resources others don't yet it still was not enough. The sole reason you're ranking raised so much was due to the lack of status. Only a few boy idols have contributed their debuts into scene. In total, a basic performance from someone who exclusively knows how to model." Rika slammed on the breaks causing us to launch forward being held back by our seat belts.

"Sorry." She muttered under her breath then continued to drive. I saw the way she looked offended in the mirror. She was his manager so it was reasonable that she would react to me criticizing her client.

"W-well that was a very honest answer. I guess that's what makes you so unique. Intelligent indeed." 'Even in times of stress, he's trying to maintain his gentleman image.' "How about you Dobu-kun? What did you think?"

"I thought that you handled yourself well. You kept the audience entertain and you didn't stumble or anything of the sort. I could never act that confident in front of that many people." Snapshot gave a prideful grin.

"Word of advice Snapshot. Shouta-kun is an honest person but he's not hurtful. If you want to know what he truly thinks then you have to tell him specifically."

"Dobu-kun, please do not sugar coat it. What did you think about my debut?" Shouta flinched a little at his question. He avoided eye contact.

"Your performance was lacking. I wouldn't call it bad but it wasn't the best. Your clothes were really cool and it matched the stage. It was more based on your song and dance that was the problem. Blaze was written to a rock song with a message of continuing your dream in times of despair. You were so focused on pleasing the audience that the song was undermined as background music as well as your dance."

Snapshot eyes widen. He was absolutely flabbergasted. The car pulled up to Starlight Academy's front gates. Rika looked at us from the mirror, her eyes telling us to get out. Snapshot was the first one to step out taking shaky steps. Shouta's face plastered with guilt seeing the effect of his words on him. I was the last one to walk out thanking Rika for the ride. She huffed in anger, snarling under her breath. Snapshot took deep breaths soothing himself. He straighten his uniform, muttering some words in French that I couldn't translate nor hear. "C'est bon. Juste leur opinion." (It's fine. Just their opinion)

"I-I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I really did enjoy your show, your fans too. It shouldn't matter if the two of us have a few points. You can always improve. Right, Momo-san?" I didn't respond. I was more focused on how Snapshot was handling himself. He was trying hard uphold his image holding back any show of anger. It was an ugly colour after all.

"Dobu-kun, I'm going to retire for the night." He gave a heavy sigh dragging himself in the direction of the boy's dorms.

"Was it just me or did he seem upset? I think I really upset him. Do you think that he'll hold it against me? Oh I really hope that I didn't just make an enemy. We hadn't really talked much this week so I wonder where we stand. I really did not want to get on anyone's bad side. He's my roommate above all. We'll be together for the whole year and he probably already hates me. I wish we can get along like you and Watanabe-san." I walked next to him.

"I wouldn't say get along per say. It's more like she does her own thing in the bed next to mine. Like you two, we haven't talked much. Only one-sided conversations. You can already assume which side. Besides Snapshot did ask for your honesty. Now that he heard it differ from his desired statements, he needs merely some time to process it."

"But even so, they're our roommates. I thought we would be able to make new friends. I guess opposites don't always attract."

A light bulb went off in my head. "Wait a second. That's it! Shouta-kun you're a genius!" I grabbed him by the shoulders shaking him slightly. "Do you know what Aunty Aoi's title was before she took on Orihime's mantle?"

"Um t-the idol professor?"

"Exactly." I let go of him taking out my Aikatsu profile binder. "Aunty Aoi knows anything and everything about idols. She knows what makes an idol shine better than anyone. That's why former headmistress Orihime asked her to take her place upon retirement. Now think about it. Why would the idol professor place two complete opposite people in a room together for a year, not just once but twice?"

He hesitantly shook his head saying he had no idea. "It's because as idols we meet a variety of people that can inspire us. Starting with our roommates." I took out a pencil and flipped to Snapshot's page. I scribbled down the word foibles. "Snapshot's main focus is to keep up his image that he goes against his will of acting out in any way that it even effects his performance." I flipped pages to Shouta's, writing down the same subtitle. "Shouta-kun, you're lacking in any skill needed in the field that is not related to music ruining your levels of confidence."

I flipped to the first year- pop -girls' idols. "Watanabe-san acts irrational, purely on the instinct that others should act similar to herself." I went to the cool section. "Meanwhile I can only react after analyzing the situation and going with the best solution. Not to mention that she is excessively talkative. Both of us have roommates that are on different sides of the spectrum from one another. Yet coincidentally these opposites have a strength that is our weakness. Our best bet is to learn from them. Understand what makes them able to excel at what they do. That way we can cultivate on our own skills."

"So we should try to become a better person by associating ourselves with good people? Maybe learn a few tips here and there as we continue our relationship? Is that right?" I nodded. "You're saying we become friends with them?"

My face scrunched up taking in everything. "Am I?" What a strange turn of events.

Thank you to Aipom4 and Elcall for reviewing and other followers, favoriters, and readers.

Aipom4: So I just thought I should give a little note about my idols. Momo, her rival and another boy idol will be cool. Shouta and Charlotte are cute. Fumiko and a unit group are pop. Finally is Hayate and another girl idol being sexy. Just thought you (and other readers) should know.

Elcall: It's okay if you don't review for every chapter. I'm just surprised that people are actually reading my story.